Mid-Day Moon
by The Endless Hourglass
Summary: "My name is Alexander, and I am no goody-two-shoes. I kill for a living, and I lead over three hundred kids who do the same. No matter what that stupid satyr says, I am not a Demigod. Camp Half-Blood is just another company for killing. I am no son of Apollo. But I must find this imaginary chariot. Chiron told me that I needed to as punishment for killing that poor Nemesis girl."
1. Appearance

"Nyx. . .Nyx, my mistress, I bring news of your son," murmured a distant shadow from within the darkness. The goddess of night opened her keen purple eyes, looking straight at the cloaked figure.

"My mortal son?" Nyx asked. There was a murmur from the figure. "That son is nothing more than a mortal now, so there is no reason for me to be concerned with his whereabouts or situations." The figured shifted within his spot.

"Your mortal son has had his powers awakened by the monsters," the figure told her with a quiet voice. "and they are growing quickly. Monsters are going to attack, he will be forced to Camp Half-Blood, and he will be discovered." Nyx's calm purple eyes narrowed.

"That cannot happen!" she bellowed. The ground shook, and the dark mist around her throne stirred and swirled with her anger. "That cannot happen. . .If Apollo or Zeus discovered who was his mother, I may never again see the darkness that is mine."

"What do you suggest we do, my lady?" asked the figure. The goddess thought about this question for a few minutes.

"He will not go easily with Chiron and his campers," Nyx told the figure. "My mortal son was forced into reality too soon to give into this world. But if he _does _accept it. . .I will have to interfere."

"But, my lady, you prefer to work in the darkness, do you not?" the figure asked. "If you were to go and confront the boy, all of the gods and goddesses would get suspicious." Nyx only stared at the figure in her shadows.

"Tell me, what did I say that made you believe I would confront my mortal son underneath the sky of my daughter, Hemera?" Nyx asked. A small laugh came from her mouth. "I will contact my son through much easier means. After all, a dream cannot be simply intercepted."

"That is dangerous," the figure warned her. "Dreams can be discovered."

"It is harder to see in the dark than it is the light, though, isn't it?" Nyx pointed out. "The night is my domain, and so at night I shall act. If my mortal son is anything like me, he will take cover within the shadows just as I do, and so there is where we will meet."

"I respect your reasoning," claimed the figure. "Shall I keep you informed of the mortal, then?" Nyx nodded.

"It would be best," said Nyx. Her face softened slightly. "I _would _like to know how he has been doing in that place I sent him. The mortal equivalent to Tartarus, I believe I called it so many years ago."

"You did, my lady," the figure responded. The figure paused. "If I may, goddess Nyx. . .What if Apollo tries to contact the boy first?" Nyx's eyes narrowed once more.

"The Lord of the Sun will only be able to contact him clearly during the day," the beautiful goddess of night claimed. "Apollo will not know since my mortal son does not know." The figure nodded.

"And if the boy dies?" the figure asked. "It is plausible with what you did to him."

"Oh, no," said Nyx, her frown deepening. "He may be mortal, but if his powers are awakening as you say. . .He will not have the ability to die."

* * *

"Oh look, it's _lonely," _cackled a large teenage boy. "Think it can hear us?"

_Yes, I can, and I _will _make you stop if you keep following me. It's annoying after a week._

"I wonder why he's just sitting there all alone," began a boy. "Oh, right, because he has no parents."

_I am sitting here alone because I don't want us to be heard. _

"The orphanage must love such a pitiful case," laughed another boy. "They must get a fortune on all the charity money you get."

_Orphanage? I am parentless, but I do not live in such a low place. _

"He's probably so starved that he would just cry for mercy if we tried to beat him up," spat the first boy.

_Cry for mercy? Weaklings. You want to fight? I'll kill you. Right here, right now. _The small boy of fourteen stood, his eyes narrowed. The boys took a step forward, silly little grins on their faces.

"Hey, you, we're not done yet!" called one of the boys.

_Wait. Security. Would there be some here, in this park? _The blond haired boy with the name of Alex looked around curiously, finding only two cameras. He walked forward, a frown on his face. _Blind spots. The left corner in front of me. The enclosed picnic area of the park. Kill them there? No. Not kill. Not yet. _

_"_Yo, boy, we'll go and beat you up if you don't come back!" yelled one of the more idiotic of the few. Alex continued with his stride, and so they all rushed forward with their fist raised highly. The fourteen year old assassin ran, and at the right moment, once he was on the picnic area, he stopped. _  
_

The boys behind him stopped, and one of them asked, "You gonna listen to us now, loser?"

"Afraid not," Alex muttered. He turned, and his brown eyes flashed darkly. "I need to leave, but you're in my way."

"So?" snapped one of the older boys.

"Move," said Alex lowly.

"You can't boss _me _around, shrimp," the bully growled. "I'm the best fighter in the region, and I'll beat you into a pulp before you make me move." Alex just stared. He looked to the cameras, and over to the openings that the four boys gave. _The cameras can't pick up anything ten feet from me, and there are three openings I could try. _

The fourteen year old assassin suddenly dashed left in between the two boys on the right. They immediately closed the space between themselves and punched toward him. Alex ducked out of the way, and moved right as their so-called leader threw his fist toward the blonde haired boy.

Alex dropped to the ground as three of them punched in his direction. He balanced himself upon the palms of his hands and threw his legs at their angles, forcing them to all stumble backward. In rapid movements, Alex rushed to his feet and punched two of them to the ground.

The other two charged in his direction, and immediately Alex stepped backwards to avoid their punches. They had him up against a wall before he knew it, and for a few moments, he envisioned his attack. After that, Alex dashed around the two boys and surged toward the ones that were still dazed from the fall.

Alex punched one to the ground before evading the other one's punch. He grabbed the arm afterward, and he twisted it as he pulled the boy to the ground. With a shriek from the boy who now seemed to have a broken arm, Alex turned to the other two. He sprinted toward them, punching one of them in the stomach while allowing the other one to just run past him.

Alex kneed the one he'd punched before he unbalanced the boy and grabbed his neck. The fourteen year old assassin slammed the boy's head onto a sharp rock of decoration below him. Alex kept the boy there, slightly choking him, and only let go when the boy's eyes shut.

The fourteen year old assassin stood up quickly before evading a punch from the remaining boy-the leader-and quickly kicked the boy into a near by pole. When his head made contact with the hard wood, the boy fell, dazed. Alex stood, noticing that his breathing had quickened a bit.

". . .powerful, and fast. . ." came a distant voice. Alex stiffened.

". . .yummy, and he'll. . ." came another voice.

Alex sprinted away after this, noticing absently that every boy was on the ground. He ran out of the picnic area and through the park, following the streets as he thanked his previous trainers for his wonderful endurance. He managed to run about a mile before he saw Main Street in front of him.

Alex strode over to a small cafe and sat down at an outside table and ordered a small cup of coffee that he knew he wasn't going to drink. After the cup was brought to him, he stared at it, hoping that no one would notice that, while he was looking at the cup, his mind was elsewhere. He was listening to everyone in the cafe, picking up on every small movement and everyone's reactions. It was easy because of his natural ability to do so, though some people noticed and whispered lowly about him.

So yes, he eavesdropped. What was so wrong about it? He was gathering information for himself, sometimes he was even trying to find his target. Most of the time, however, it was innocent curiosity. It allowed him to learn, for even though he was fourteen, he was done with school, and he needed things to do in between assignments.

Alex was, unfortunately, uncomfortable at public places though. He was trained to never trust anyone, leaving him to usually become the target for bullies on the streets or policemen who knew he should be at school. Not only that, but because he didn't trust anyone, he was constantly forcing himself to make sure he wasn't being followed or watched, which became stressful after awhile.

Suddenly, Alex's phone buzzed. He looked at it, his eyes narrowing with focus as he saw the name, _Ed Newson. _It was a 'friend' of his that no doubt was going to send him on another job that night. _Great, _he thought. _Just what I need right now._

Usually, he was perfectly fine with getting a new assignment, but today was a little agitated with the fact that he knew someone was following him. It had been going on for a few days, and it seemed they were waiting to pounce considering they were there when he beat up the bullies.

Alex stood up and walked through the tables of the outside cafe with his eyes flicking from one spot to another. He ignored a few odd looks to him, and instead focused on his hearing. The normal rushing of families rushing to get home was to be heard, but there were other things too, such as the conversations going on between two people.

"Ow! Watch where you're-huh?"

"Mike, did you seriously just bump into thin air?"

"I could have sworn someone was there just a few seconds ago!"

Alex walked faster, his feet carrying him quickly through the street as he continued making his way toward home. He was still listening to the conversations behind him, and he was monitoring them closely. All he needed to do was figure out who they belonged to. _If I ever get them off my back, I'm going to have to look at those security cameras, _Alex thought to himself. _I haven't seen the suspects yet, which bothers me. They must be highly trained if they're able to avoid my eyes so easily._

Alex walked through a parking lot, noticing that, while he separated from the crowd of families, no one was following him. Alex became worried as his heart began to race, which he then had to calm down as he forced himself to remember his countless lessons on what to do when you're being followed.

Alex continued walking, but it was toward the bad part of town. If the people following them where bullies, than it would be most likely that they would go away, seeing as everyone was scared of this part of the city. If they weren't bullies, and instead some sort of state agent, Alex knew he was going to be in for it.

"He's fast. . .should we really go after him?"

"Of course we should! He. . ." The words drifted, becoming too quiet for him to hear. Alex mentally cursed before realizing that the voices behind him were child-like, meaning that whoever was following them was definitely an assassin from the other companies.

Alex turned into an ally way, one that was dark enough where no one could accidentally see them. His heart was racing as he stopped, listening carefully as he heard that everything had become silent. Alex knew there was someone behind him, though, and this made him think harder on his plan.

_I can't run, because obviously these kids are here to get rid of me and if they were trained anything like I was, they would know where to find me anyway. I can't confront them because for some reason they seem invisible-maybe it's a new invention. I can't even tell their strengths or weaknesses. _Alex was thinking rapidly before he picked up his buzzing phone and accepted the call, hoping that what he was plotting would work.

"Edmund, what is it you want this time?" Alex asked after accepting the phone call. His name was actually Edward, but when he was called Edmund, it was basically code for 'something's wrong.' The person on the other side of the line was quiet for a few seconds.

"I want you take care of the nonsense down south in that little farmhouse, and please make sure you have the right people," came Ed's voice, demanding, yet Alex could sense the wary. "I'll send some back up in case you need it. You know the password." Alex nodded to no one.

"Yes, sir," Alex said before Ed hung up. He shut the phone and shoved it into his pocket, happy that he'd gotten what he needed. There was a silence afterword as he carefully calculated what he wanted to say to the kids behind him.

"I know you're following me," Alex murmured. "I would appreciate it if you showed yourself so that we can have an even fight." There was another silence, as if the kids behind him were shocked that he'd figured it out.

"Should we. . .?"

". . .Yes. . ."

". . .But if we. . ."

". . .We have no choice. . ."

". . .He is strong. . ."

". . ..good fight. . ."

Alex had his eyes narrowed as he listened to the voices behind him, confused as to who was talking and what they were discussing. Their voices were odd, though, and hard to follow. It was as if they were used to speaking in a different language. Then, all of a sudden, it was quiet again.

"Turn around, child, and meet your fate."

Alex did so, quite curious at this point. That is, however, until he faced what had been following him. He became shocked at the sight as he forced himself to remain calm. Without his normal weapons, he knew he was going to be no match. These. . .These _things _were way stronger than he was.

They were-well, he couldn't exactly explain it. Strangely enough, they looked like over grown dobermans, but instead of black and tan, they were black and red with different markings. Their eyes switched from amber to red, like a flame, and they had teeth probably half a foot long. Unless this was an inbreeding, Alex knew he had to be dreaming.

"You weren't expecting_ this_-" said the one on the right.

"Were you, child?" the one on the left finished. Alex's eyes were somewhat emotionless aside from the tiny bit of confusion he let show. Other than that, however, he tried not to show his fear.

"Which company are you owned by?" Alex demanded, hoping silently that this was all a dream. Both dogs-which was what he was calling them-laughed, sending shivers down his spine.

"Company?" asked the one on the left.

"We are owned by no one!" hissed the one on the right. Alex didn't say anything for a few moments, trying to calm himself down, telling himself it was just a dream. If these mutts weren't robotically made, there was no way they were real.

"Why are you following me?" asked Alex, trying hard to wake up. He probably fell asleep in class or something. Yeah, that's it. _Wake up, wake up, wake up! _He thought to himself as the two dogs growled lowly.

"You smell delicious," the one on the right answered.

"And we are hungry!" the one on the left finished. Alex took a step back as they took a step forward. Great. Now these stupid things want to eat him, and he was dreaming of it. Was the back up even coming? _No, _Alex said to himself. _This is all just a dream, there's no way they would come._

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" Alex asked, continuing to drag on the conversation. They continued making odd sounds that made him shake slightly. They were no doubt going to be the things waking him up from this dream.

"Because of your endless questions! But," answered the one on the left.

"No worry. We shall kill you. We shall rip you." said the one on the right.

"We shall eat you!" They finished together. Alex's heart beat even faster as their muscles tensed, their teeth bared as they prepared for an attack. Alex pushed a button on his bracelet with his right index finger, sending a knife shooting into his left hand to which he gripped tightly.

And then, the human-size dogs attacked.


	2. Fail

Alex took one step forward before sliding underneath both dogs, easily standing up after they had passed over him. He called upon all the training he'd had for the past eight or so years and held onto it as the dogs turned around to face him.

_They work in pairs,_ Alex figured out_, so the best thing would be to separate them. Actually, the smart thing to do would be to run, but honestly, that would ruin whatever dignity I have left, not to mention the fact the police would probably find me and take me in. So that leaves me with fighting them, but how on earth can I kill them?_

The dogs attacked again, this time running straight toward him, their eyes locked onto Alex as he gripped his knife with more force. He hardened his stance, bending his knees as he loosened up the muscles in his arms like his instructor had taught him.

The dogs lunged once they got close enough, leaving Alex to choose one of them. He moved to the left before plunging the knife toward the dog. He felt the pressure, leaving him to believe that he caught the dog's skin, which was confirmed as he heard a yelp from behind him as he slid underneath them once again.

Alex quickly turned around, finding that the wounded dog was furious, while the other dog was already advancing. Now he'd gotten them apart, but it wasn't exactly how he'd wanted it. If the wounded on recovered after he'd finished attacking the other dog, he'd be done for.

Unfortunately for Alex, however, the unwounded dog lunged, forcing him backward as he went further and further into the ally. To his unpleasant surprise, it was a dead end, and he had no where to go. Alex hissed with fury, but his eyes continued to stay concentrated on the dog as it growled with anger in it's eyes.

The dog attacked, leaving Alex to simply evade it, stepping to the side as he suddenly found himself between both dogs. The wounded dog continued to stay whimpering on the ground, but Alex knew better than to underestimate his enemies, especially ones who weren't real.

The unwounded dog attacked again, once again leaving Alex no choice but to evade by ducking and walking forward, which landed himself between the wall and the dog again. That was when something unexpected happened. The dog made a quick movement that was too shocking for Alex to catch, and _that_ was rare. In seconds, the dog was gone from his spot in front of Alex, and was then behind him, the knife in its jaws.

Alex got over this quickly, finding himself to be paying more attention to the wounded dog behind him as he heard it standing up. _Great_, Alex thought._ Now I've got two of them after me, and I don't even have my knife. Brilliant._ The dog spat out his knife before giving a deep growl, leaving the other dog to do the same.

When they both attacked, Alex went backward, leaning up against the wall as he hoped both dogs would crash into each other. Unfortunately, they did not. The wounded dog had gone straight toward him, as if he'd known which way Alex would go, and that had been his mistake.

The dog pushed Alex to the ground, his weight keeping the strong boy down as it sunk it's teeth into his arm. Alex forced himself to stay quiet as rippling pain shot up his arm, noting the fact that if the dog went any harder, his bone would break.

Alex struggled, but he knew it was impossible. The other dog was standing from his miss, and he was becoming prepared to get his own share of the meal. With a small sigh and hiss of defiance, Alex yelled, "Catena Cadeno!"

In seconds, he heard the gun shot, which made the dog upon him yelp as well as let go of his arm. Alex then kneed the dog in the stomach, which forced an opening in which he gladly took. He rolled away, right next to his knife, which he picked up and cleanly finished off the bloody dog, which, to his surprise, simply faded after dying.

Alex took no time in wondering how the heck it did that. Instead, he stood up just in time to plunge the knife into the other dog's chest after it had lunged toward him. With all this strength, the fourteen year old boy pushed the dog away from him, continuing to hold the knife in his hands.

Alex watched as that dog also faded, and though he did in fact wonder where they went, he just leaned against the wall, letting go of his knife as he just breathed there for awhile, wondering how on earth he'd just survived that.

He knew now that this wasn't a dream at all, for the pain in his arm confirmed that this was, in fact, reality. That or he was being murdered in his sleep, which he highly doubted considering that he slept in a top room of a high security building with technology normal people could only dream of.

"Alex, don't you dare scare me like that again!" came a familiar voice as Alex looked over to the approaching figures. One was a boy slightly younger than he was with short dark brown hair and blue eyes, and he was the boy who had spoken. "You knew we were there the entire time! Why in God's name didn't you call the password?"

"I didn't need it, Brandon," Alex answered, continuing to lean against the wall as the smaller boy stopped in front of him, his eyebrows raised. "What? I was perfectly fine until it took away my knife. I could have sworn it knew how to disarm me." The boy shrugged.

"Must have been a Secret Agent dog or something," Brandon told him. "I heard that Kayla came across a few the other day. Apparently they're huge dobermans trained to attack people with a certain scent or whatever. Those were the biggest I've ever seen, though." Alex nodded.

"I think my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I swore both of those things were just as tall as I was." Alex told him, but instead of agreeing with him like he'd wanted, Brandon just gave a small laugh.

"They were big, but they weren't that big, bro," Brandon said, making Alex nod, having no energy to argue. Plus, he knew that he very well could have imagined that part. "Dude, we need to get you back to headquarters. That wound ain't gonna heal by itself." Alex shrugged.

"I've had worse." he said simply. Brandon rolled his eyes.

"Just because you've been stabbed before doesn't mean you'll survive everything," Brandon said, which seemed to be the millionth time this month. "Come on - I don't know what happened to the dogs, but the boss will not be happy when he finds out that you couldn't carry out your assigned job." Alex sighed as he stood up, no longer feeling the need to have the wall as support.

"It wasn't like I just blew it off," Alex hissed, irritated that he was going to get into trouble for something that was obviously not his fault. "Sometimes I wonder why this company even exists-you'd think someone would get fed up with them by now." Brandon opened his mouth to answer, but an older man interrupted him.

"If I were you, Mr. Brandon, I would not reply to your friend's statement." The large, muscled, dark skinned man growled with his eyes narrowed. Brandon seemed to shrink a bit before turning back to Alex. After that, they walked toward a large regular looking black suburban before entering and heading toward headquarters.

* * *

By the time they reached headquarters, it was sunset, giving Alex a bit of energy as he felt his sticky blood ooze out of the wound on his upper arm. He was holding back the pain by ignoring it, but it was harder than anyone could think, especially since he knew it was going to be at least three more hours until he could get treated.

When Alex scooted out of the car, he smiled, noticing the sun setting in the far distance. Sunset was his favorite time of the day, but he wasn't exactly sure why. He just felt so much stronger when he was in the light of the sun, yet at the same time, he also liked it at night, when everything was so calm.

Alex followed the older men, who ranged from 23 to 31 in age. All aside from Brandon, who was always back up for him. It was a given fact since the only reason the boy was alive was because of Alex, due to a reason that he couldn't exactly explain. Brandon was his friend from that moment on, and having friends wasn't exactly common. With that, they promised to always have each other's backs.

When the men stopped, Alex found himself in front of an apparent abandoned building that was three stores high. It all seemed as if they were in the middle of no where, and that was the point. It was designed to make people pass right on by without even thinking of the possibility that a training center lay underneath it.

"Requesting Entrance." a gruff man said as he looked toward the door.

"Please state the names in your group and your reason for entrance." came the voice of a recorded speaker. Alex always hated that, because he was never sure if the inside of the building was safe or not if the voice always stayed the same. However, it wasn't his choice to make.

"Gary Robert, Jonathan Kester, Alan Sertal, Alex: Number One Three, and Brandon: Number Eighty-three One-hundred and twenty-seven requesting entrance under the order of Mr. Quinn and Edward Aiden." the gruff man continued, making Alex cringe.

Whenever he heard his title name being heard, he felt like he was lower than everyone else. The numbers weren't how many Alex's there were, or how many Brandon's there were. They were named from their arrival, as well as rank. Him? Well, the number One went toward his rank, and the number Three went toward when he arrived. So, to put it short, he was the highest ranking assassin, and he was only the third person to ever be used as such.

"Please have the head of the group place their index finger here." came the monotone voice again as a metal thing slid out from a crack in the door. It was finger print scan, something Alex was very familiar with. Gary - the guy who'd been saying the orders up until this point - put his finger into the scanner, holding it in there until the voice said, "Thank you, Gary Robert. Please place your hand on this surface, and let the persons behind you do the same." Gary did that as the finger scanner automatically changed into a square plate big enough to flatly place the palm of his hand.

"Gary Roberts. Admitted: September 6th, 2021 at 7:32am. Age: 31 Assignment: Collect Alex Number One Three - Completed. You may enter." At that moment, the door opened, and the big guy walked in. The same thing happened when the other two guys slid their hand on the scanner one after another, until it was Alex's turn. He hesitantly placed his hand on the scanner, having no desire to hear what was to come.

"Alex Number One Three. Admitted: December 20th, 2022 at 11:59pm. Age: Fourteen. Assignment: Assassinate Mr. Ryan Rod - Failed. You may enter." Alex walked in as soon the doors opened, his fists clenched as he forced himself not to punch that thing. He found the other men waiting for him, their hands crossed as their expressions clearly read the fact that he wasn't going anywhere that wasn't the boss's office. So, with that, Alex gazed around.

The normal metal building looked to be up to its usual plans, with people seeming to move everywhere, heading to carry out whatever job they needed to. Boxes which most likely held weapons were being transported upstairs to the training center while the wounded made their way to the back of the building to which stood the medical wing. Other people were heading to the offices, gathering files about their next victim, or going to the library to study.

Believe it or not, none of the people there reached the age of 35. Most of them were under 20. Why? Smaller, quicker, younger, thinner, and smarter people were better used as assassins than bigger, slower, older, more muscular people. Most of them were also orphans, while others were just defiant young rebels. Alex was different than all of them, but yet, the same. He didn't like to think about it, though, so he instead turned his attention to the men who were now behind him, basically forcing Alex over to the elevator.

He walked through the crowd of rushing people with Brandon to comfort him. Alex knew he was going to be in big trouble, but it wouldn't be smart to run. With the new technology released, and the wonderful training each and every person had here, he would be killed within a week at least. So, he'd do what he always do: accept whatever punishment there was to come and live with it.

The Elevator was as clean as always with it's stainless steel exterior and interior, making it shiny, and unable to break. The crowd of five piled in with Alex in the middle, Brandon being right beside him, giving him a hopeful look.

Okay, when you think a normal elevator you probably think the numbers are Floor level, 2, 3, 4, and so on. In this one, however, it was the opposite. It was Floor Level, -1, -2, -3 below Floor Level, while there was also 1, 2, and 3 above Floor Level. So six levels of files, weapons, libraries, training centers, teaching centers, and whatever else was in this building. Gary punched the number 1, though, which was where all the offices were.

After the four second elevator ride, Alex walked out, finding his own way over to the main office as he ignored the fact he was walking faster than the other men. Brandon kept up with him, though, his eyes filled with concern as they turned the corner to walk directly toward the Office of Doom - a nickname everyone had given the Boss's Office.

Alex opened the door, walking over to the counter as the Secretary looked up from her computer and saw him. She immediately frowned before pointing to the door to his left, stating simply that he needed to go to room C3. Alex did so quietly, his eyes narrowed with irritation as he strode down the long hall of rooms.

He entered C3 at a slower pace, becoming slightly nervous as he opened the door. When Alex saw the boss - Mr. Quinn - his gaze held onto the tall business man before the fourteen year old assassin glided across the room to turn and face him. It took the others a few moments to arrive, but they did, acting as Alex's security at that moment.

"Mr. Alex, I was informed that you failed your assignment today, is that correct?" asked Mr. Quinn as Ed - his second boss - shifted uncomfortably. Alex nodded, having no desire to speak. "Do you understand the consequences in which your actions will lead to?" Alex nodded once more, ignoring Brandon's shocked expression. "Then Mr. Aiden and I have decided that, due to your act of defiance, you shall be - "

"Wait, you're going to give him the punishment, just like that?" asked Brandon, his eyes widening. "You're kidding! You haven't even allowed Alex to share his part of the story!" Everyone looked at him - Ed in irritation, Mr. Quinn in amusement, Alex in anger, and the rest of them in disgust. It was against the rules to talk back to Mr. Quinn, but apparently Brandon forgot that.

"Oh, Mr. Brandon, is that what you think?" asked Mr. Quinn coolly. "Well then, what is his side of the story?" Brandon wasn't paying attention to Alex. He was scared with the realization that he talked back to the only person allowing him to live, but at the same time, he wasn't doing what normal people would do in his situation, which is shrink back in fear. Instead, Brandon answered Mr. Quinn's answer like an idiot.

"He was attacked by the Agent Hounds!" Brandon said with his voice high. "You have proof right there!" He was pointing toward the wound on Alex's arm. "He couldn't have carried out his assignment at all with that wound!"

"Ah, so you think that is an excuse?" asked Mr. Quinn smoothly. "Your. . .friend had all day to carry out his assignment, and failed to do so by the given time. With that, your testimony makes no difference in the matter, Mr. Brandon."

"But he was - "

"Drop it, Brandon," Alex hissed, which made Brandon flinch. Alex wasn't the highest ranking assassin for nothing. He had his defiant moments, yes, but he followed rules, and, according to the younger assassins, he had a very authoritative aura around him. It was only natural that his friend flinched under his order.

"Thank you, Mr. Alex," Mr. Quinn praised, a fake smile on his face. "Now, as I was saying, it has been decided that you will carry out an Abduction assignment tomorrow as your punishment. Should you fail, expect the worst. The information will be in your folder tomorrow morning at 6:00am. You are dismissed." Alex nodded before he walked out of the room, Brandon following behind him with his eyes low. The men didn't follow, leaving Alex to walk in silence with his friend trailing behind him like a dog and his master.


	3. Interrogation

Alex was relieved once his wound was stitched up. Sure, it took about an hour because of all the other people needing treatment, but that was normal for him, and after taking in consideration that other people probably had worse injuries, he was fine with waiting.

Apparently, the dog had almost broken his bone, which was what he'd managed to calculate anyway, so it wasn't news. However, he had lost a lot of blood, and because of that, he knew he'd be seeing a lot of the medical wing this week.

With his arm wrapped in tight bandages, Alex made his way toward what was called, "The Assassins' Sanctuary." The name meant exactly what it was: the place where any of the kids within the building could have a rest. It was the only place they could call home, the only place they could talk and be normal. For Alex, it was a place to hang out with the many friends he'd made.

When Alex opened the large brown doors that was at least ten feet tall, he saw the familiar place in which he could call home. It looked like a mattress store in a mall-there were beds everywhere, and there was a indoor balcony up top in which held many more beds. Every one was the same -brown wood for the frame, a white mattress, tan sheets, a tan bed cover, and two tan pillows.

It was all open as well - there were no walls separating the beds, just a bit of space that signified somebody else's space. Oh, and it wasn't separated into girls or guys, either. They were numbered, yes, but that depended upon your rank, meaning that Alex had a bed upstairs, and his was much bigger than the rest of them.

There were isles, of course, and then the major one in the middle to which Alex and Brandon was currently walking through, passing the beds, dressers, and nightstands which all had one brown and tan lamp on it. Each small numbered spot had those things within their space.

No, you didn't have to get undressed and dressed in front of people. There were bathrooms and locker rooms for that in the back at the end of the major isle. The carpet was tan , even up top, and there were seven fifteen by fifty foot windows on either side of the building, letting the light come in easily. Right now, as the night had engulfed the sun, the lights were on and kids were buzzing around talking to each other.

When Alex stopped in the middle of the room, everyone ran over to see him. All three hundred kids or so were running down the staircases, jumping out of their beds, and even running over from the bathrooms to greet him and ask why the heck he'd taken so long.

"Alex, you're back!"

"What took you so long?"

"What caused that wound? No sword could make that much blood!"

Alex, as always, grew irritated as the kids asked these questions, and his stress level sky-rocketed to a level he hated to deal with. However, he knew he had to live with it. He was their leader, and he was their protector in a way.

"Quiet!" Alex roared, hiding his irritation as the room immediately grew quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Though it was demanding, and most people would have flinched at the sound, the kids just peered through the crowd anxiously awaiting answers to their questions. "I will only say this once, so listen up. At about five this afternoon I was followed by two Agent Hounds, which attacked me, and forced me to call back up. I did not finish my assignment, and was then given a punishment. And no, this wound is not from that, it is from the dogs."

"What was the punishment?" asked a random kid in the crowd. Alex was quiet for a few moments, knowing how they would react when they found out. He sighed, his hands clenching sightly.

"I was given an Abduction assignment." Alex said lowly. In seconds the whole room was in an uproar. They were yelling at the top of their lungs in defiance, their eyes narrowed with anger.

"They had no right!"

"You were attacked!"

"It wasn't that bad of a defiance!"

"Quiet!" Alex roared again, making the room silentonce more. "Considering the fact I had all day to complete the assignment, it is a big defiance, and I don't want any of you doing anything to Mr. Quinn and this company until I say otherwise, understood?" There were a few murmurs before Alex sighed with relief.

"Okay. Jenna, what's the news for today?" He asked, turning toward a pretty girl with wavy blond hair and warm brown eyes. She was wearing a green T-shirt and jeans, which, to Alex, really fit her, unlike the black he was used to seeing on her.

"Twenty-seven assassin assignments were given out, twenty three were completed. Thirty-nine clean up assignments were given out, thirty-eight were completed. Ninety-six Distraction assignments were given out, ninety were completed. Seven Abduction assignments were given out, seven were completed. Eighty-four Spy assignments were given out, eighty-three were completed." Alex nodded as she finished.

"Give me the list of the kids and their punishments tomorrow," Alex told her. "What about the new prisoner?" Jenna thought about it for a second before answering.

"He's so shocked he wet himself," Jenna said with a small smirk. "You'd think after two weeks under the interrogation program he'd break, but he's still blabbing on about all that god and goddesses nonsense." Alex rolled his eyes. Someone had confronted him a few days ago, saying something about how special Alex was and how he needed to be trained. Alex had pretended to go on with it before capturing the idiot, because whatever the kid had been talking about was an obvious lie. "Ed said that you'd be interrogating him again tomorrow morning, though with your Abduction assignment I'm wondering if that statement remains true." Alex shrugged.

"With my luck the assignment won't be until later on in the evening, so I'll probably have to do the interrogation anyway," Alex muttered. "Anything else I should know about?" Jenna nodded.

"A new batch of assassins are ready for training tomorrow, and Ed requested that you be their instructor for the time being," Jenna explained. "Apparently there's a wild-child in there from an Abduction assignment, and Ed wants you to straighten him out." Alex nodded.

"Should be easy enough," he said allowed to the group. "Now I want all of you to get ready for bed -lights out at 10:30!" The crowd then evaporated, moving back toward their spaces to gather their clothing before going over to the locker rooms or bathrooms.

Alex did the same, climbing the stair case over to his bed, gathering his plain blue pajamas before going down to the bathroom and locker rooms. The hallway had white walls with brown trimming, and at the end were four doors. The closest door on the left was the 'Men's Bathroom' on it, while the furthest door on the left had 'The Men's Locker-Room'. It was the same thing on the other side but those were for girls.

Alex walked into the bathroom, smiling as he saw the largest, prettiest, most expensive bathroom anyone had ever set eyes on. It was three times larger than a normal master suite with mirrors and sinks lining the left wall, bathroom stalls lining the right wall, and over fifteen showers and baths in the back. There was a reason that they were in the bathroom, and not the locker room. The locker rooms were for getting dressed in and out of clothes, as well as getting ready for assignments. The bathrooms, however, were for relaxing after the assignments.

Alex wanted to take a shower, but avoided the pain from his arm and took a bath instead before getting dressed in his pajamas. He threw his clothes into the large dirty clothes hamper near the bathroom door before walking back into the large bedroom. He walked up the staircase, and into his bed, laying down within it but forcing himself to stay awake as the other kids prolonged their relaxation time.

Eventually, by 10:30, everyone was in bed, and Alex sighed with relief. "Kayla, the lights, please!" Alex called down to the girl who's bed was closest to the light switch. There was a second's pause before all of the lights shut off, and Alex was finally able to fall asleep, which he did in no longer than fifteen seconds.

* * *

The next morning, when the sun started rising at six o'clock, Alex was up, his eyes watching the sunrise through the windows with a smile on his face. The sun made him energetic and jumpy, but he didn't get up.

Alex didn't have an alarm clock or anything. Automatically, he always woke before sunrise, and went to sleep after sunset. He did, however, know that in just a few moments, he would wake the rest of the kids so that they could start their day.

As if on cue, the alarm began beeping, and after swiftly shutting it off, Alex stood up an turned toward the kids below. "Wake up everybody!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "It's time to get up!" A few people roused, but they didn't wake. Alex continued yelling for ten minutes until everyone was out of bed and walking like a zombie over to the locker rooms, their clothes in their hands. Alex had already gotten dressed, so he was free to do whatever he wanted for the next thirty minutes.

Alex walked over to the hallway, taking a left as soon as he got there. It was an office, sort of. There was a billion files in boxes, as well as folders. It was where everyone went to find out their chores for the day, as well as their assignments, if they had any.

Alex took out the box with an A on the name plate before setting it on the table that was in the middle of the room. He took out the folder that had the tab, Alex, No. One Three before opening it, noticing the agenda and a few other papers as well. He read it over quickly.

Agenda:

7:30am - 8:30 - Interrogation With Prisoner Number Six

8:45am - 12:00pm - Train Beginners

1:00pm - 1:30pm - Demonstration

2:00pm - 3:00pm - Report to Mr. Quinn

3:30pm - 5:00pm - Train Advanced

5:30pm - 7:30pm - Travel to New York

8:00pm - 4:00am - Abduction Assignment

Alex paused after reading the last entry, his heart seeming to skip a beat as he realized how much of a punishment this would be. They are crazy. They purposely made it night. They had to, for they know full well what I'm like at that time of the day. It's as if they are making sure I get punished. This is just going to make tonight ten times harder. . . Alex closed his eyes, a memory flashing through his head to the time when he was nine.

It was quiet as the darkness of the sky shadowed him from the victim. The boy, though visibly young, was mentally mature, having already passed most of his education which was that of a sevennth grader. He was dressed in black, and his dark brown eyes had grown to a dark purple that could be mistaken as black.

He was sitting on the railing of a balcony, which sat on the second story. He was watching as his victim walked forward, on the phone with a very important business call that the boy knew was fake. At this moment, a knife slid from his bracelet and into his hand as his muscles tensed, ready for the kill.

Kill without any hesitation. the boy thought.

It was just a few seconds after that when the man walked underneath him. The boy swung his legs over the railing, making a loud sound to force the man look upward. Moments afterword, the strong boy had brought the man to the ground, and as he struggled, the boy used his knife to slit his throat, leaving the man to lay motionless below him.

The boy stood up, sheathing his knife back into his bracelet as he continued to stare at the dead man. He did that. He killed the man. He took life away, just like that, without hesitation. He watched as the blood oozed out of the wound, creating a pool of crimson liquid around the body.

The boy stared, his mind swirling into circles. I need to do more to the man now that I've completed the assignment. I need to make sure he suffers more. But I want to go home. I need to go home.

"Alex, good job!" came the voice of Brandon. "For your fifth assassin assignment, you did awesome. Let's go ho-"

"It wasn't enough," came a cold voice from the mouth of Alex, his eyes continuing to stay a dark purple. "I killed him, but he didn't go through enough pain." Brandon blinked in surprise.

"All that was required was the kill; you don't need to make a bloody mess in the process." Brandon pointed out.

"Edward Aiden said that this man was very bad," Alex said darkly, his face completely emotionless aside from the slight look of concentration. "Edward Aiden said that he needed to die. Edward Aiden said that this man was a very bad man, that he deserved more pain."

"A-alex, are you okay?" asked Brandon, a look of concern on his face. "You did what was required now lets go." Alex stopped after this friend said this, becoming completely frozen, moving no muscle in his body as he tried to control a part of him that he didn't want to show. He looked like a cat ready for the pounce.

Alex shook his head, having no desire to relive that memory any longer. He sighed before grabbing the papers and folding them into squares before shoving them into his pocket. He then put the box back to where he'd found it before standing and walking out of the room as the next group of people looked to see their agenda.

Alex checked the time, finding that it was only seven, meaning he had a half an hour to eat and meet Ed to interrogate the prisoner. Finding that it was just enough time, Alex walked out of the Sanctuary before taking the elevator to the second floor, which opened right up to the cafeteria.

It was like any normal school cafeteria. There were several long tables attached to benches while a line formed in front of the counters as they ladies gave out the food on trays. For Alex, this wasn't a place he visited often, because he usually just bought something at a restaurant to avoid the food he got here. Today, however, he was required to stay within the building.

After eating, he found that it was seven fifteen, and so he left the tray there and walked over to the elevator before going to the third floor below floor level. It was basically where all the prisoners were held, though there were a few punishments given down there as well.

Alex walked forward, finding himself in what - to him - looked like a dog pound for humans. Metal cells were every where with isles separating them. They were big, but a lot of them were empty. Alex didn't know why it was, but he had a hunch.

He followed the signs pointing toward the interrogation rooms. Alex had been there before, but that had been too long ago for him to remember. He managed to find his way through the maze of cells before finally walking through a doorway into a hall way where he saw at least ten closed doors.

After consulting the paper he'd shoved into his pocket, Alex found out he was going into the room closest to his right. The boy did that after shoving the paper back into his back pocket, opening the heavy door with some effort.

Alex found himself in a very small room with a large window in which let him see into a white tile room that held the teenage prisoner. In the small room with him was Ed, his arms crossed as he scowled at the prisoner. Alex blinked before hearing the door close behind him.

Ed looked over to him, finally realizing Alex was there. His dark green eyes showed his irritation, but Alex could tell the older man was trying to hide it for one reason or another.

"Good, you're here," Ed said as he turned toward the fourteen year-old boy. "The kid won't talk unless it's you asking the questions. He said that a week ago, but I thought that with one more week he'd start getting out of his day dream. Unfortunately, nothing's changed."

"Not even his argument about eating meat?" asked Alex. Ed sighed.

"No, not even that," Ed answered. "We've offered it to him a few more times after the first day, but he still refuses it. Before he declared that he wasn't going to talk at all, he was saying something about being vegetarian, which would be the last thing we need. Oh, and did I mention he chewed up the sofa?" Alex narrowed his with confusion.

"He what?" the boy asked. Ed shrugged.

"Just today we found bits of the sofa every where, as if a dog had gotten in there," Ed explained. "He claimed he did it, and I can fully agree with him, but honestly, I don't see how any human could have ripped it like that unless they used brute strength and finger nails. Even then, the other prisoners said they saw him eating it."

"This kid just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Alex murmured. "Anything else I should know about?" Ed shook his head.

"Just be careful-if he can chew a sofa, we know he's pretty strong." Ed warned. Alex sighed.

"And yet he has a permanent leg disease." Alex wondered aloud before shaking his head. "Might as well get this over with." He then walked over to the door that connected the tile room to the room Alex was already in. Once he closed the door behind him, he noticed that he couldn't see through the glass on this side, leaving him to figure out that the glass was one-sided like it was in every law show there ever was. Talk about unoriginal, Alex thought before turning toward the prisoner.

He was a bit younger than Alex - maybe thirteen or twelve. However, the kid was just as tall as him, he noticed, and he was also the same skin color. Alex observed the fact he'd gotten new clothes - a dark blue shirt and jeans - and that he seemed quite healthy aside from the fact that he was very, very lonely.

When the kid saw him, his eyes widened with shock before smiling widely, as if he'd just set eyes on a friend that he hadn't seen in five years. Alex narrowed his eyes with confusion, trying to first wonder exactly what to say to the kid.

"Alex!" the kid exclaimed. "You've come back to listen!" Alex crossed his arms before shaking his head.

"Not exactly," Alex told him, making the kid confused. "Since you declared yourself mute unless I'm the one in front of you, they've ordered me to ask you a few questions." The kid sighed, a look of disappointment in his head. "The first one should be easy enough: What's your name?" The kid looked up, his expression showing his hope.

"Ethan." the kid answered simply. "Well, technically it's Athan -"

"As in the Greek city?" asked Alex, interrupting. He still held a scowl, but at the moment he was just curious.

"Don't get off track, Alex," warned Ed from the speaker. Ethan's eyes had widened, though, as if Alex had just said he'd let the kid go.

"How do you know that?" Ethan asked quickly, his expression becoming more hopeful by the second. Alex shrugged.

"I was reading a Greek history book about seven years ago," Alex answered, a bit confused as to why Ethan was so interested. "Why?" Ethan shrugged.

"Alex. . ." Ed murmured.

"I'm getting there," Alex snapped back. His gaze didn't leave Ethan. "Answer the question."

"I just thought you'd be intere - hey, wait a minute, you were able to read a history book by the age of six?" asked Ethan, his eyes narrowed with confusion. Alex's eyes narrowed with irritation, feeling that Ethan as now interrogating him.

"What, you think I'm stupid?" asked Alex with frustration gleaming in his dark brown eyes. "I'm no idiot - I've been able to read 200 page books since I was four, and now I can read anything." Ethan looked like he was even more confused.

"You mean you're not dyslexic?" Ethan asked.

"What are you, a therapist?" Alex snapped, his eyes flashing with fury as he wondered exactly what this kid was on. "I can read perfectly fine, thank you very much. Now can I continue?" Ethan was still shocked, but Alex moved on. "Who are you?" Ethan sighed.

"It's like I told you before - I'm a protector of the kids who are half-blood, also known as demigods," Ethan told him. "You just so happen to be one of them." Alex scoffed.

"Do you honestly think playing dumb will help you in this situation?" asked Alex, his eyes narrowed. "If I were you, I'd be telling the truth instead of going off on your little fairy tale." Ethan looked a bit surprised.

"But I am telling the truth!" Ethan insisted. "You just aren't believing me." Alex sighed.

"Because it makes no sense," Alex growled. "I doubt you could even tell me where you live without messing that up." Ethan shrugged.

"That's easy," he said. "When I'm not protecting Half-bloods from monsters, I'm living at Camp Half-blood." Alex sighed, trying to calm himself down, wondering why on earth someone would be stupid enough to come up with a story like this.

"And I'm guessing these monsters are the enemy," Alex sighed. Ethan nodded, once again looking hopeful.

"Yes! They are!" Ethan said excitedly. "They attack half-bloods all of the time because of their scent - you have the wound to prove it!" Alex looked up, his scowl hardening. He was offended by the fact that Ethan had brought his battle injury into this, and he was not going to let it slide.

"I got this wound from two Agent dogs," Alex hissed. "Don't you dare say otherwise, or I might just have to knock you out cold." Ethan laughed slightly.

"Alex, those weren't Agent dogs and you know it," Ethan told him, now trying to appeal to Alex's curiosity. "They were big, weren't they? With black and red markings and amber eyes. Doberman-like, I'd assume." Alex's eyes flashed with confusion.

"How do you know that?" the fourteen year old assassin asked.

"I can smell the scent of Hell Hounds all over you!" Ethan told him, acting as if it were obvious. Great, now the idiot thought he could smell. "Alex, you're different, and I know things about you that even you haven't figured out. Your heritage, your powers, your parents -"

"Don't you dare say that you know anything but my parents!" Alex roared, his voice up to it's height as his irritation and anger reached it's boiling point. "If you say anything about them, I will personally meet you at night and kill you slowly like I did -"

"Alex, unless you want to a double assignment today, I suggest you complete the interrogation before this gets any further," came Ed's calm voice through the speaker. Alex stopped, pursing his lips as he tried to decided whether to listen to authority or not. After a few moments, he sighed, giving a quick glare at Ethan before marching out of the door and into the small room it lead into.

Ed was leaning against the wall as Alex came in, calm, it seemed. The man smirked as Alex grew more irritated, but he quickly breathed in and out, realizing he wasn't going to speak unless he was calm enough not to yell out his response.

"That kid is too frustrating," Alex growled underneath his breath, focusing on controlling himself. "I don't want anything to do with him if all he's going to do is talk as if he was in a fairy tale." Ed laughed slightly, forcing Alex to narrow his eyes in confusion.

"Too bad, you're stuck with him for the rest of the day," Ed said, a bit of amusement on his face as Alex's expression grew into complete and utter shock. His eyes were wide, his jaw had dropped, and he looked as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"Why on earth-"

"For several reasons," Ed told him, his calm and collected aura annoying Alex further into anger. "One, he needs to learn what the real world is like, two, his cell is currently going to be used by a different prisoner, and three, after what you did, you deserve it as a second punishment. So, until seven thirty tomorrow morning, you will have the responsibility of-"

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me!" Alex yelled. "I'd kill myself before hanging out with that guy for over an hour!" Ed's face darkened as Alex finished, making the fourteen year old boy flinch before standing up right.

"Would you like me to prolong it to forty eight hours?" asked Ed. Alex sighed, once again collecting himself. As much as he wanted to punch the head adviser, as much as he wanted to argue about spending a day with that young lunatic, he didn't want to disobey the only family he seemed to have.

"No, sir," he murmured. Ed nodded, as if confirming his victory.

"He's all yours starting now," Ed told him as he pushed a button, releasing the boy. Ethan looked a bit shocked, looking through the glass before carefully standing up. Ethan wobbled over to where his crutches lay against the wall. "Don't forget to let him eat, make sure he doesn't screw up your assignment, and please, for your own good, don't let him go free." With that, Ed left, probably having more important things to do.

After this, Ethan walked into the door, a hopeful and surprised look on his face as he noticed that Alex was the only one in the room. The boy glared at the prisoner, his expression showing his irritation as Ethan shrunk back a little.

"Do as I say and we won't have a problem," Alex hissed, his arms crossed. "Now come on, I've got to go make some arrangements." With that, Alex turned around, and glided out of the room, heading toward the main office as he figured out he'd need a flight ticket for Ethan as well as a few passes to let him get into the training center. Great. More complications. Just what Alex needed.


	4. Assignment

Alex had to say, by the end of the day, he was quite amused to see the expression that was on Ethan's face. He looked as if he were about to puke, or even worse, faint, as if what he'd seen that day was an opening to a whole new world.

Ethan kept murmuring about how it was all so different from Camp Half-blood or something, asking himself, "What would Chiron say?" many, many times as Alex portrayed his good side, the one that made everyone scared to death of him.

When Alex had been training the beginners, there had in fact been one kid who was defying his every order. After a few interruptions, Alex had sent the young eight year old boy away, and as he continued with the lesson, he heard faint screams that belonged to the boy. Ethan realized this as well, and he instantly became pale as the rest of the kids gave each other wary glances.

The kid came back, beaten and bloody as well as crying up a river, which made Ethan really, really sad and shocked. The rest of the kids were, from then on, very cooperative, never once talking out of turn. Even the wild-child didn't say anything, and with that, Alex felt as he had done his job.

Punishment was just a normal thing within the company. It was the only thing that got the kids to think, and it was the only thing that forced them to learn quicker. Alex himself still remembered when he had been defiant, and had in return gained punishment. It started when he was four, and stopped when he was around twelve. It was at that time that he became the highest ranking assassin.

So, after the training session, The prisoner got to see how brutal Alex was in the Demonstration for Mr. Quinn and a few scouts. Ethan had become both surprised and scared after realizing how much Alex actually knew. Then, after reporting to Mr. Quinn about how many people had been assassinated in the last week, Ethan looked as if he were about vomit right then and there. When it came time to do train the advanced assassins, Alex had truly shown all of his colors, becoming angry when he needed to, dark when it was essential, and even threatening when a certain idiot asked if he was really qualified for the job. After this, Ethan held the expression of fear.

At the moment, they were currently sitting in a plane going to New York as he prepared for his Abduction assignment. Ethan had his head low with a look of worry on his face as Alex checked his bandages, which had been renewed before he'd left for his flight.

"Do you even know where you're going after we land?" asked Ethan, his voice somewhat trembling as Alex confirmed that he was all set for the assignment. The fourteen year old boy looked over to the prisoner with eyes of boredom.

"They gave me a paper this morning, genius," Alex told the kid as if he'd expected the idiot to already know that. "Apparently we're headed to 709 Gilbert St, Long Island. The girl there is rumored to have a very short attention span-maybe even ADHD - which is perfect for what she'd be doing in the Training Center."

"That's where Camp Half-blood is!" Ethan exclaimed a little too loudly, forcing Alex to give him the death glare. The kid lowered his head, shrinking back as he realized what he'd done. "Sorry." Alex sighed.

"I don't care that this imaginary place of yours is where my assignment is - you are not going back." Alex said, once again twirling with the string he'd borrowed from Brandon. "I am under strict orders to simply watch you, and if I break that I could probably be looking at a few years of. . .er. . .unpleasant consequences." Ethan narrowed his eyes in confusion, making Alex irritated.

"Why don't you just run away from that place?" asked Ethan, his voice low with a bit of sadness swimming in it. "All they seem to do is punish you and make you work." Alex gave him another glare, but it was quickly over with as he himself mentally asked the question. He paused in answering, but then told himself, _He'll probably be dead in a few days, and if he says anything I'll be sure to clean up the mess. So what the heck. _

"It's where I was born, and it's literally all I've ever known," Alex answered him, making it sound like it was a simple answer. "Plus, you only saw the training parts of the building - wait till you see the Assassin's Sanctuary. It's very nice, and I have many friends there. It's the only other reason I stay - because they're all counting on me to return." Ethan tilted his head to the side.

"All of them?" Ethan asked with curiosity in his eyes. Alex nodded.

"Yep," Alex answered, smiling slightly. "My numbers aren't One Three for nothing - they mean something. I am the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, and the best one there, not to mention the fact leadership comes easily to me. They basically think of me as their leader and organizer." Ethan eyes widened a bit as Alex finished.

"Wow," Ethan breathed. "I didn't know you were that respected. I wonder what Chiron would say? We've never really had a Half-Blood before that already knew as much as you do. Heck, it's rare that we have a Half-blood that's neither ADHD or dyslexic." Alex scoffed.

"Wrong again, kid," Alex told the weird boy. "I'm not dyslexic, but I _am_ ADHD."

"But you seem completely calm," Ethan pointed out.

"With all the training and fighting I do, I'm curing the issue." Alex countered. Ethan tilted his head to the side again.

"What about when you aren't doing anything?" asked Ethan curiously. "Like right now? You don't seem fidgety or anything." Alex sighed, his irritation rising as the kid continued to ask questions.

"The reason I'm not showing signs right now is for a different reason," Alex explained, twirling his string a bit faster. "But, on normal occasions, I've learned how to control myself. It was the only lesson I've learned that took more than a year to figure out, but it's better than forgetting about assignments and running around like a lunatic." Ethan pointed toward the string, finally noticing it in Alex's hands.

"Is that what the string is for?" asked Ethan. Alex shrugged.

"Not really," Alex answered. "Instead of it helping to avoid getting hyper and unfocused, it's to keep me calm before huge assignment's like this one. I get nervous sometimes with the ones that are later at night. Anyway, this is Brandon's, because he's also pretty hyper for his age. We share it if we're going on long assignments, so usually it's me who has it. I guess you could call it a friendship thing or whatever, considering it's about eight years old."

"You've known Brandon for that long?" asked Ethan, a bit surprised. Alex glared at him again.

"Yes, dimwit," Alex said, smiling once more. "I _do _have friends that last." Ethan flinched, but while caught in the moment, Alex continued, "He and I were only five, and though he was a whimpering kid and I was probably the scariest kid there, they made sure to stick us together. So, after he got up enough bravery to talk to me, we slowly became friends. I kept him grounded, he kept me happy."

"It sounds like you've always been. . ." Ethan drifted.

"Respected?" Alex asked. "Feared? Comes with being one of the only assassins there since birth. And besides, I've been the best since I was seven, and I've trained assassins since I was ten. Those who choose to come to the company fail when they challenge me, and those from abdication assignments are naturally freaked out about the authority and power I hold."

"What exactly is an abduction assignment?" asked Ethan. Alex stayed quiet for a few moments, contemplating on whether to tell the kid or not.

"The meaning is in the name," Alex murmured before realizing they were descending. They were landing, leaving him to twirl the string even more, tangling his fingers as he did so. He could feel the need to carry out the assignment, and it was making him even more nervous by the second.

The next events went by quickly. Ethan had been quiet while the plane landed, but he'd taken on the look of worry as they walked through the parking lot toward a normal looking taxi car. Ethan looked confused as Alex got in, waving for Ethan to do the same.

"We're taking a taxi?" he asked, sort of confused. Alex sighed with irritation.

"What were you expecting, a black SUV?" asked Alex, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just get in - I'll explain when we're on the road." Ethan did so, though it was a little difficult for him with his crutches.

"You know they can collapse, right?" asked Alex as Ethan closed the door, laying his crutches on the floor, which annoyed the fourteen year old assassin. Ethan narrowed his eyes with confusion before Alex picked up one of the crutches, pushing them together like a camera stick. Before long, it was just two feet tall instead of five. Alex did the same to the other one before Ethan smiled with relief, leaving Alex to answer his first question.

"This car is made to look like a taxi to avoid strange looks," Alex told him. "All my weapons are in the back according to the paper, and we'll be there in forty-five minutes. By that time, it will be around 8:00pm, but be warned, this assignment could take all night." Ethan opened his mouth as if to ask why, but then he closed it, as if to think he'd rather not due to the kind of answer he'd get in return.

By the time they reached the house, it was around 8:45pm like he'd assumed. They stopped in front of the house, which seemed like an old castle looking thing, but it was extremely small, leaving Alex to realize the girl he was abducting was probably an only child.

"You stay here," he told Ethan. "And I forbid you to go into that house unless another assassin is after you, got it?" Ethan nodded. "It might take a few hours, too, so please don't fall asleep. You're my look-out right now since I wasn't allowed any." With those words, Alex scooted out of the car and shut the door behind him before walking in to the back.

He opened the trunk before taking out what was a seemingly normal suitcase.. He picked it up and shut the trunk, afterword walking up the sidewalk and over to the house. He turned the doorknob, finding it locked. _Big shocker, _Alex thought sarcastically.

Alex reached into his pocket to retrieve a small needle. He quickly picked the lock on the door within just two minutes, leaving the door to click open. Alex shoved the needle back in his pocket before walking forward slowly, aware of all his surroundings as he entered the house.

_Kill the parents, get the girl, get to safety,_ Alex thought to himself as he crept through the house with soft and slow steps. Before doing anything, he made a mental note in his mind about where everything was - the kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, where the furniture was. It all mattered, especially if something went wrong.

Alex set his stuff down on a black table, unzipping the suitcase with ease as he continued to listen for the sleeping family. He first took out both of his bracelet knives, putting them on before sighing softly with relief. When Alex was weaponless, he always felt insecure.

He then grabbed a few darts, which would be for the parents, and loaded them in a small black gun before taking a deep breath. Alex turned and started walking down the hall with slow movements, careful not to disturb the family. He sneaked past the girl's room, who seemed to be sleeping with a smile on her face, before silently slipping right into the parent's room.

Alex quickly walked into the huge closet, making sure that everything was going to work well before setting up aim at the two sleeping parents.

The reason the assassins had to kill the parents when on abduction assignments was simply because of the fact that the kids would usually make enough noise for anyone in the house to hear, and no sleeping dose had ever kept the parents asleep, causing a few fatalities on the company's end. However, another reason to just kill them was to make the police think it was a serial killer instead of someone collecting children.

Alex soon opened the closet door slightly, blending perfectly with the clothes as he aimed the small shooter at the father first, ready to quickly bring it upward to kill the mother as well. _Kill the parents. Get the girl. Get to safety._ Alex had no sooner thought this before he heard someone banging on the door, leaving him to narrow his eyes in anger.

"Alex! Alex!" yelled the familiar voice of Ethan, making Alex clench the gun harder. "We're being attacked! Monsters! They're coming!" Alex felt his blood grow cold, the thought in his mind suddenly going from kill the parents to kill the prisoner. However, before he could think this, there was movement in the bed, and without thinking, Alex shot the gun.

It missed and hit the part of the bed right next to the mother, who woke with a shriek as the father mumbled something Alex didn't catch. The father reached under his bed, pulling out a gun that Alex had not seen. Now, there was only one thought in his head.

_Run._

Alex quickly rushed out of the closet, his ears beginning to ring after he heard the gun shoot and miss behind him. His heart was beating rapidly as he stumbled out of the room, tripping over a few random things as he tried to recreate a plan.

Alex heard the gun click behind him, and in seconds he forced himself to the left, narrowly evading the bullet. _Get the girl, get to safety. Get the girl, get to safety._ Alex thought as he dashed forward through the hallway.

Alex gave a small 'oof' as he tripped over the small nightstand in the hall way. He cursed at himself as he knocked it over, falling as he did so. His mind was in a haze as he felt the familiar sensation of nightfall creep further over him. It was getting closer and closer to midnight, and he wasn't as alert as usual. _I'm going to die if I miss things like this!_ Alex yelled to himself.

The fourteen year old assassin heard another click of the gun as the father stood over him, and the mother still was still in the other room shrieking. Alex's expression turned into a scowl before he flipped over onto his back, looking the man right in the eye as if asking, 'would you really kill me?' The man hesitated, and as Alex noticed this, he took the opening.

Alex grabbed the man's ankle, pulling him down before standing up and darting into the girl's room, realizing suddenly that he still had the small gun in his hand. After shoving it into his pocket, he made the knife in his knife bracelet come down, grabbing it quickly before running over to the girl's bed.

"Jenna!" Alex heard the father yell as he woke the girl up. The fourteen year old assassin drug the now screaming girl out of bed, his knife to her neck as he glared at the father. Alex watched as an expression of shock grew on the father's face. The fourteen year old assassin hissed at the girl - who's name was Jenna, apparently - to be quiet. In seconds, she stopped, residing to a small whimper for help.

"Try to shoot me or my friend, and she dies." Alex growled, his voice loud and mature as his fuzzy mind finally concentrated. He still wasn't able to filter his thoughts easily, and he had almost no idea what was happening.

"I'll give you anything, just please, let my daughter go." the father pleaded. Alex's muscles tensed even more, still scowling as he found himself feeling sorry for the father._ No, I can't do that. Not now. Not in the middle of the assignment. I musn't feel any mercy or sorrow. I must get Ethan, Jenna and I to safety._ Those thoughts reappeared several times in his head before he answered the father by walking forward, the girl doing the same.

"I don't want anything but her," Alex murmured coldly, his voice becoming more melodic and ice-like. It happened during the night, which was something he'd gotten used to, but the change made Jenna cry a bit harder. "And, considering that you won't stand down. . ." Alex drifted, leaving the father to widen his eyes before Alex quickly reached back into his pocket, pulled out the gun, and pushed the trigger. The dart found its way clean into the father's heart.

The girl screamed, and since Alex didn't hear the mother anymore, he could only assume she was passed out. Alex took the girls hand after coming to that conclusion, and drug her forward out of the room and through the house.

As Alex passed Ethan, he shoved the girls hand into him, and without thinking much of it, the prisoner took it. "Take care of her - you seem to know a lot about kids." Alex ordered Ethan as he marched over to the table where the suitcase lay. He set the gun in the suitcase, zipped it up, and carried it out as he put his knife back in his bracelet.

"It's okay. I know you're worried and scared, but it's okay. You'll be back. You'll be back." Alex heard Ethan whisper to the crying girl as they followed the fourteen year old assassin out of the door. Alex quickly threw the suitcase over to the driver of the taxi, who took it and screeched off.

"Why did he leave us?" asked Ethan, sounding quite frightened. Alex, now fully engrossed in figuring a way to safety, scanned the area, looking for any hidden street cameras. This was not a very nice part of town, so he doubted he'd find any, but he still wanted to check.

"It's not safe to travel in that car anymore," Alex told Ethan in a quick sentence. "Right now we just need to get to safety." Ethan hurried over to him, the crying girl refusing slightly as she saw the boy who killed her father. Alex, unsurprisingly, didn't not blame her for hating his guts.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Ethan said, seeming to be exhilarated as he looked around. "We're being chased by two small monsters, or one big one, and they're gaining on us quick! We need to get to Camp Half-Blood before -" Alex turned with a cold look in his eyes to face Ethan, who the assassin now noticed looked in pain with the loss of his crutches.

"Don't you dare start talking about your fairy-tale at a time like this!" Alex hissed, the order very loud and very clear. "After your stunt in that house, I will personally kill you once I get back, because if it weren't for the fact I'm supposed to be watching you, you'd be dead already!" Alex watched as Ethan's expression grew a bit timid, but he didn't get to say anything more. He felt it.

It wasn't like anything he'd felt before. Alex knew that there was something after him; he knew that something was after _all_ of them. He could tell that whatever it was, it was dangerous. Alex figured it was just his ADHD and extensive training, but at that point, he didn't want to prove it. He just wanted to do one thing. _Get the girl. Get to safety. Get the girl, get to safety._

"Alex! We need to go!" Ethan yelled, his eyes wide as he pointed to a spot behind the fourteen year old assassin. Alex looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing with confusion as he saw something running - no, it wasn't running. It was _slithering_ toward them, but it was unmistakably human as well, leaving Alex confused. "Come on, Alex! That's Lamia!"

"That thing is a. . .demon?" asked Alex, his eyes still staring at it with disbelief. He'd learned enough about Greek mythology to know who Lamia was. But no, she didn't exist. She couldn't.

"Yes, and it's coming right for us!" Ethan yelled. "Now come on! I know a safe place to go!" Ethan was tugging Alex by the arm, but the boy was only moving a few feet. His thoughts were changing at the sight of the potentially dangerous creature, and it was confusing him. He knew he wanted to run. He knew he wanted to be safe. But there was an urge to kill this monster, to destroy it to save. . .well he didn't know who. Then his thoughts changed. _Get the girl, get to safety. Now, we just need to get to safety now. So. . .get to safety. No, get the girl to safety. Get the girl to safety._

"Alex, come on! The place is only a mile away - we need to hurry!" Ethan insisted, pulling Alex's arm now as Jenna started crying again, this time in complete and utter fear. Alex glared coldly at the prisoner, his expression in a scowl once again.

"There's no way I'm going to a place that you suggested," Alex hissed. "It's probably going to be dangerous, and everyone there will probably tell the same dumb fairy-tales that you do." Ethan's eyes widened, as if shocked at the fact that Alex still didn't believe him.

"Alex, everything is real! You can see it right there!" Ethan yelled, his finger pointing to the incoming demon. "We need to get to safety, remember? The place I know will only allow us to go in - no monsters can follow us. Lamia can't get past the borders!" Alex paused, his mind flashing with the words of 'get to safety,' forcing him to almost give in to temptation and follow Ethan. _No. . ._ Alex told himself._ I can't follow him! He could be leading me into a death trap for all I know!_

"Fine, don't come," Ethan muttered coolly, his eyes narrowing. "While you go run for your life, I'm going to get Jenna out of here." With that Ethan started taking off his pants, which made Alex widen his eyes. At first he closed his eyes, not ready to see anything like that, but then Jenna gasped, and as Alex opened his eyes, his jaw dropped.

Ethan, once boy with crutches and a leg disease, was now standing tall, the lower part of his body furry, and his feet now hooves. Alex could barely believe his eyes, unable to comprehend what to say let alone what to do as Ethan glared at him.

"Y-you're a satyr!" Alex exclaimed, pointing at the lower part of his body, his eyes looking up to Ethan soon after that. "How on earth can you be a satyr?" Ethan gave a small smirk, a smug expression on his face as he crossed his arms.

"It's like I told you earlier, Alex, everything about Greek Mythology is true." Ethan reminded him, though Alex's eyes narrowed angrily. "Now, are you going to help me get Jenna to safety or not?" Alex glared for a few more moments before his brain realized the thought as it echoed through his mind. _Get Jenna to safety. . .Get Jenna to safety. . . _His brain switched completely. Everything was mixed, and he couldn't think.

Alex nodded reluctantly, answering Ethan quickly as he became serious, aware of the slithering Lamia just fifty feet away from them now. "Come on - if it's where you said it was, the safest and fastest way would be through here." Alex told them, pointing toward ally way. "Ethan, take the front, and help Jenna along - I'll go behind, being the one with the weapons." Ethan, though slightly surprised, nodded before taking Jenna's hand and sprinting forward, leaving Alex as he glared at Lamia.

The fourteen year old assassin soon followed Ethan and Jenna, his mind aware of the snake-like woman. Alex let his mind wander, hoping to let his ADHD catch anything that went wrong.

They ran through the city at a fast pace, but Alex had calculated far enough ahead that Lamia would catch up them before they managed to go the mile that was needed. Alex hoped, however, that within the time frame they had, they would reach whatever destination Ethan had in mind.

When they got to the forest, Alex immediately felt the security of places to hide, but as he looked back to see Lamia, he narrowed his eyes. She was now only about ten feet away from them. He ran faster, finding himself right behind Jenna.

"About how far away is the place?" asked Alex called over to Ethan.

"Just a few minutes away!" Ethan called back, his eyes focused on something Alex couldn't see. The fourteen year old assassin looked over his shoulder, finding that she was already getting closer, and that in just a few moments, she'd be right there with them.

"We won't make it that far!" Alex yelled over to Ethan, his voice becoming louder as he saw Lamia's vampire-like fangs. "She's faster than us!"

"Then we'll just need to go faster!" Ethan yelled back to Alex. "We need to get Jenna to safety." There was the word again. It echoed in his mind, forcing his focus elsewhere. No, they weren't going to make it. No matter how fast they were evading these trees, no matter how fast they were sprinting over the pine needles, they were not going to make it.

_Do not give up all hope. I shall help you. Do what you must, not what you can't._

Alex's eyes narrowed with confusion as he heard the woman's voice. It was smooth and angel-like, as if coming from a dream. The weird thing was, he believed her. He somehow knew she was going to help him, whoever she was, and he somehow believed that she was going to protect him. So with that, he created plan C.

"Get the girl to wherever this safe place is and call for back-up!" Alex called over to Ethan. He heard a surprised 'what?' before he unsheathed both his knifes, letting them reach his hand before catching them and turning around.

He and Lamia crashed together in moments, her teeth blocking the knife in his left hand, and her scale armored tail blocking the other knife. He put all his weight into the one pushing against her scales, but only a small cut resulted in his effort.

"You honestly think you can defeat me?" asked the snake-like woman, her voice that of a serpent's hiss. "You are only a child, after all, and children shall die!" Alex calculated her movements only a moment too late, and all he could do was watch as her arms grabbed him and flung him to the side, her inhuman strength sending him flying into a pine tree in which made him winded.

Alex fell, dropping his knives on the ground as he caught himself from the fall. He was on his hands for awhile, trying to regain the thoughts in his head and gather them long enough to organize them. However, he wasn't given enough time, for Lamia was already upon him.

Alex grabbed one of his knives and stood up to attack her. In his winded and dizzied state, though, she was faster, and she caught the upper part of his arm quickly, grasping it tighter and tighter as she saw Alex cringe in pain. The part of his arm she was gripping just happened to be the part in which was already covered in bandages, and was now bleeding heavily.

Alex was unable to think properly, but he forced himself to send a kick to the demon's side, leaving Lamia to screech out. However, she didn't let go of him as he'd liked. Instead, she grew furious, and with an angry hiss, she flung him to the side again. After hearing a sickening crack, rippling pain was once again sent up his shoulder.

Alex rolled once he got to the ground, that one knife still in his hands as he quickly stood up, trying hard to ignore the pain of his now broken arm. Lamia was already slithering toward him, her expression clearly stating the fact that she wanted to kill him.

Alex ducked out of the way of her sharp finger nails, finding that she was somehow the same height as he was. He stepped back a few times as she tried to grab him before he lunged forward, plunging his knife into her direction. She made a quick movement to the side before reaching out again to which he quickly flipped backwards, using his somewhat small size to get away quicker.

_Be brave. Be strong. Call for me, and I shall help you._

Alex nodded to the voice, as if the woman was right there with him. He evaded another attack of Lamia as the snake-like woman was once again in front of him. He sent a strong kick in the demon's direction, only to miss by a few centimeters. Lamia went for his arm again, but he side-stepped before plunging his knife near her heart. It caught skin, but it only made a cut, leaving him to hiss in frustration as he avoided her next attack.

_We're equally matched,_ Alex thought, calculating her movements as he analyzed her evasions and attacks. _With every advantage, she has the same amount - it's not going to end until one of us get tired, which, considering she's a mythical monster and I'm a normal human, will be me._

_Are you asking for my help?_ came the voice of the woman again.

_Yes. Please._ Alex said, hoping that he wasn't talking to an imaginary voice inside his head that he and he only created. Seconds later, he was proved wrong as he felt immediate strength and speed. Everything was moving in slow motion, leaving him to smirk. He was going to win this battle now.

His movements sped up, shocking the demon as she struggled to keep up. Alex gripped his knife as he continually plunged it toward her. She avoided each attack, her eyes widening as she hissed with frustration.

Alex then used his flexibility to send another kick toward Lamia, who dodged it easily. It was a trick, though, because as she went left to evade the kick, his knife was plunged into her heart, forcing her to screech loudly. Then, in seconds, she disappeared just like the Agent Hounds did.

At this moment, he felt the power from the voice drain from his body, leaving him exhausted and in pain once more. The world sped up as his vision became brighter and much more fragile. He sat down, the knife still in his hand as if he expected her to attack once more.

He felt blood ooze out of his wound, and he knew the darkness was coming. Alex knew the signs, and he knew that he probably couldn't stay awake much longer, but he forced himself to, his eyes blinking as they drooped.

"He was right over here, Chiron," came the familiar voice of Ethan. "There's one of his knives and -whoa." There was a small silence, and though Alex wanted to see Chiron - who he hoped wasn't the centaur in the mythological stories - he knew if he moved ever so slightly, his body would give up on him.

"He must of defeated Lamia," Chiron said calmly, though his voice was very clear and very leader-like, leaving Alex to figure that this man - hopefully it was a man - was one of the higher ranking fighters or whatever they called them.

"What happened. . .?" Ethan breathed quietly, having probably not moved from his spot. He sounded worried, shocked, and surprised all at the same time. There was more movement, but after Alex had tried to figure out what was happening around him, his mind shut off, and darkness overtook him.


	5. Tour

Alex, upon waking up, found himself quite exhausted. He felt soreness in his ribs, which he found strange, but most of all, he felt his arm give reminding signals of pain very few seconds. It was a bit numbing, so it wasn't an acute pain or anything, but still, Alex wanted it gone.

It was at that point that he remembered what had happened the night before. He felt bandages on his arm, and he knew instantly it was much more mangled than when the hell hounds - no, Agent Hounds - had given him the wound. Alex could somewhat feel the cuts, and he'd been in enough pain before to know that the injury had turned into something ugly.

Alex's thoughts suddenly drifted to wonder where on earth he was. He knew that he was in some sort of room, and though it was an odd looking house, he could tell by the beds beside him that, wherever he was, it was somewhat similar to a cozy, house-hold hospital or clinic.

Alex let his mind wander further, finally catching onto the subject of the voice he'd heard the night before. It was familiar, as if he'd heard it when he was little. That was impossible, of course, since anyone around there was known one way or another by someone else. Plus, not many women of the age he thought the voice came from lived there. Still, he replayed the memory in his mind, trying hard to pin-point why it was familiar.

It can't be anyone I know, but, then again, there are a few unexplained things that could decide it. The voice could be from one of those woman at the orphanage that my brain locked onto, and because I was in a tough situation, I remembered the voice, and then I felt as if I was getting stronger. Well, that would work, but the only problem is, I would have remembered that person. Who could it be? He continued mentally arguing with himself until his thoughts caught onto the names Ethan and Jenna.

Ethan was a satyr, which explained much, but still, Alex had a hard time explain the rest. A demon had attacked him, and had nearly killed him. He was in a strange house that he could feel had a different structure than normal American houses, and there were strange people next to him in separate beds, all having one injury or another. He was also completely refreshed, despite having only around four hours of sleep that night.

None of this, as of yet, had proved Ethan's theory of Greek Mythology being reality, and in that case, Alex decided not to believe him. That said, he thought of Jenna, the girl he'd probably scarred mentally forever. Death was a funny thing - no one can stand it, unless they've seen it before. The girl, who was no older than twelve, had definitely never seen death before, and having it been done right before her - not to mention, to her father - Alex felt a bit of sadness for her, even though he didn't know the feeling.

That was the thing about Abduction assignments. They were meant to leave the taken child broken, and the assassin either punished, which was the more often case, or simply in the realization that they just destroyed a perfectly good family of people.

I just have to find a way to get back to the company with Ethan and the girl, and then accept whatever punishment Mr. Quinn has up for me this time. With good luck, it will be just a simple lock up for a few weeks, but then again, I did break a pretty big rule.

It was at that point Alex heard a few people coming, and, having no idea who they were, he sat up, his expression returning to his usual scowl as he saw Ethan walk into the room. The satyr - who still had furry legs and hooves for his feet - looked a bit worried as his eyes scanned the bed Alex was in, his eyes lightening up as he saw the familiar fourteen year old assassin.

"Alex!" Ethan said happily as he ran over. "Are you feeling better?" Ethan was only a few feet away from Alex's bed now, to which the fourteen year old boy found uncomfortable.

Alex crossed his arms. "If being confused, exhausted, and constantly sore counts as 'feeling better', than I'd guess, yes." The boy muttered icily, making Ethan frown slightly. The satyr sighed, though, seeming to have slightly gotten used to Alex's remarks.

"Sorry I didn't help you fight Lamia," Ethan murmured, his eyes distant with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I was going to, but Jenna was to the point of fainting and -"

"Why would I be mad at you for that? You followed my order, which is more than I can say for a lot of people," Alex muttered, his voice still swimming with attitude even though he was somewhat trying to comfort the satyr. "You got the girl here safely - at least I'm assuming we're still in the same place - and you managed to get that man - Chiron, wasn't it? - to come, even though I hardly needed it by that time. I don't understand what you're apologizing for, honestly." Ethan gave a small smile.

"Er, Jenna's still terrified," Ethan informed him, shifting his weight uneasily after the small thirty second silence. "She slept last night in the Demeter cabin, so she already has a few friends to comfort her, but after what happened last night, she's going to need a few days to recover, according to Chiron." Alex nodded, as if agreeing with the satyr.

"I would be worried if she wasn't that scared," Alex murmured, his expression continuing to stay in a scowl as he looked at Ethan. "She was, after all, forced to not only watch her father get killed in front of her, but also to be kidnapped and run from a mythical creature which very well could have killed her. With that, I say she has a right to be scared."

"Maybe you should try to apologize." Ethan offered, as if trying to make the situation better. Alex gave a small, dark laugh.

"You honestly think that she'd let me anywhere near her after what happened last night?" Alex asked, not once expecting an answer. "Besides, the girl is the last thing I need to be worrying about." He then attempted to cross his arms, only then remembering it was broken. He immediately let go of the arm while holding his tongue, sighing as the acute pain numbed again. "Yeah, the last thing I should be worrying about." Ethan, surprisingly, gave a small laugh, somehow knowing full well that Alex wasn't really only angry at him.

"Oh, right, I guess I should probably give you this," Ethan said, leaning over to the nightstand before giving him an goblet. At first Alex narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but after a few coxing words from Ethan, he took a sip, immediately flinching as he the taste hit his tongue.

It wasn't something he'd tasted often for sure. It was only faintly familiar, but soothing nonetheless. The memory of when he was younger returned, when he was around the age of four and every time he got a question wrong, his tutor yelled roughly at Alex. He sometimes even hit the fourteen year old assassin. However, the assistant, a young lady, always comforted him as if he was her own child, and she would always give him small peanut butter chocolate chip bars, and did so until he was nine, to which he finished the elementary school academics.

As he refreshed from the taste, he found the pain in his arm slowly fading, and it was no longer deformed. He felt stronger, less exhausted, and his mind wasn't foggy at all. It was like he'd just woken up again.

Alex finished with a sigh of relief, putting the goblet down with a small smile on his face. "Well that was better than I expected," he murmured. He moved his arm a little, interested in what the magical peanut butter chocolate chip bar tasting liquid had done to it. When he did this, his eyes widened slightly.

Having been somewhat trained in the medical field as well, Alex knew instantly that his arm was no longer broken, and it was no longer mangled into many cuts and rips of the skin. He curiously took of the bandages, ignoring the protest of Ethan as he unwrapped it all.

What he saw was shocking, at least to any human being, he assumed. His arm was completely fine aside from a few large scratches in which looked like they were merely scabbing over, and it was a bit bruised as well. Aside from that, it was completely healed, looking better than it had in days.

"Well that's convenient." Alex murmured, letting Ethan's surprised expression to go unnoticed. Alex, after this, scooted out of bed and found his own way out of the house, ignoring another one of Ethan's protest seeing as he had more important things on his mind.

After exiting the house, Alex found himself quite stunned, finding the largest camp he'd ever learned about right in front of him. It was huge, and there were campers everywhere, many of which looked as if they had somewhere to go with a friend. Alex hadn't realized he'd almost stopped, though when he heard hoof beats that definitely didn't belong to a goat, he stopped quickly, looking straight in front of him to see - dare he say it - a centaur.

The man - or horse; Alex couldn't decide on what to currently call him - had white fur on the part in which was a horse, and though he seemed only middle-aged, there was something about him that made him seem older and more mature than he looked. Alex could also tell that this man was of authority, considering Ethan was a bit nervous.

There was also another boy beside the centaur who seemed around the same age as Alex. He had messy dusty brown hair, and emerald eyes, and though he looked authoritative, he was. . .friendlier?

"Hi, Chiron," Ethan murmured awkwardly, as if expecting scolding. Chiron, however, only he stared at Alex with an emotion he couldn't read correctly. "The nectar refreshed Alex quite a bit. . ." Alex never understood the emotion of someone he just met being. . .higher. However, at that moment, Alex knew he would respect all orders given to him by the man.

"I see that, Ethan. It must have tasted brilliant as well," Chiron said smoothly. "Tell me, new camper, exactly what did it taste like?" Alex's eyes narrowed.

"Like the peanut butter chocolate chip bars someone gave me a while ago," Alex answered easily. "Why? Doesn't it taste like that to everyone?" Chiron and the other boy chuckled, forcing Alex to grit his teeth. Another thing he disliked: others knowing more than he did.

"The nectar tastes like whatever the drinker wants it to taste like," the boy answered, leaving Alex to mentally slap himself. "The taste usually holds meaning to the drinker." Alex's eyes narrowed somewhat with irritation, but his mind - being ever so curious thanks to his ADHD - went back to the word the boy used earlier.

"That was nectar?" asked Alex, slightly confused. "I thought only gods and goddesses could drink that, and all of the mortals just burned up." Ethan gave a look of hope and surprise while Chiron continued smiling. People with authority shouldn't smile like that, Alex growled to himself.

"Ah, so you did study about these Greek Myths?" Chiron noticed. "Yes. Only gods and goddesses can drink an endless amount of nectar. However, demigods, such as yourself, obviously, can drink a small dose, unless they wish to become feverish and eventually incinerate." Alex narrowed his eyes, his expression once again a scowl as he thought about that answer.

It was that point that the centaur's eyes looked elsewhere, catching an interest in something else. Alex followed Chiron's gaze, finding an average height girl with wavy brown hair and green eyes, a girl with blond hair, another girl with tanned skinned girl with glasses and straight brown hair, a girl with caramel colored hair, and a dark haired blue-green-eyed boy walking out of the house.

"Aleah!" Chiron called, beckoning them over, making Alex clench his fists. He knew the centaur was planning something, but due to the fact this guy was acting out a man that was probably thousands of years old, Alex found it impossible to read his expressions.

The four kids walked over, each looking to be about the same age as he was. The funny - well, more like irritating -thing was, they all knew Chiron, they all looked to be brilliant friends, and they all had a very annoying friendship.

It wasn't that Alex hated the fact they were friends, it was just the fact that they all had smiles on their faces, as if the world couldn't be better. They weren't in the point of view Alex's mind had adjusted to always seeing, which was the sadness of the world. The fourteen year old assassin had always known that somewhere, there was a flaw, and that there was no such thing as a perfect day.

"So, Chiron, who's this?" asked the girl with wavy brown hair, her hand giving a gesture to Alex. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

"Oh yes, introductions," Chiron said. "Everyone, this is Alex, a new camper that Ethan brought in along with Jenna, who's around here somewhere." Chiron then turned toward Alex. "Alex, this is Aleah Emore." The fourteen year old assassin's eyes narrowed harder. Aleah. Not your typical American name. However, the name was unique, and as Chiron introduced everyone else, Alex studied her.

". . .and I am Richard," claimed the boy who had been talking to Chiron before the girls came over. "You can just call me Rick, though. Nice to meet you, new kid." Alex glared, new kid becoming a very annoying title.

"Originally, I was going to have Aleah show Alex around," Chiron explained, turning to face the brown haired girl. "Matthew tells me that you should stay low-key today." Aleah looked almost as if she was going to protest, but Chiron spoke first. "You almost died from the basilisk poison, and you almost died again from too much nectar and ambrosia. That is twice in the past twenty-four hours." Aleah seemed to accept that fact easily as Chiron turned to face Alex. "Here at camp, we generally prefer you almost dying only once a day."

Alex had a feeling that this was directed at him for two reasons - one, to show Alex that they didn't really like campers to almost die, and two, to show Alex that they did actually fight roughly here, but not to the point of death. Even though this was true, he didn't believe it. Alex was determined to prove to himself that all of this was fake.

"So, Rick, would you and Matthew take Alex on a tour and show him around? I have a feeling that he will not be claimed until later tonight, with the rest of the new demigods." Chiron told them, continuing his smile. Alex scowled harder, his head aching slightly as he continued to grit his teeth.

Matthew seemed to noticed this, and said, "C'mon, new kid - don't tell me a well-built guy like you isn't interested in a few deadly weapons." At this, Alex's interest was actually sparked. He was surprised that there was even weapons here, and found himself curious as to what kind there were. So, with that, he followed them stiffly as they annoyingly had an arm each thrown around his shoulders as if he had been their best friend for years. This left Alex practically growling at them once again as they headed toward a building unknown to Alex.

The three of them then walked into what they called, 'the armory,' seeming to be in the middle of the camp. At first Alex found himself ready to dash out and escape, but the familiar gleam of weapons caught his attention. He walked forward, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he looked around.

Weapons were everywhere. Spears, knives, swords - basically anything he could think of. He didn't need Rick nor Matthew to get him striding through the armory, for he simply went right in, imagining just how he could use each of the weapons he found.

Alex was somehow drawn to a big golden shield in the shape of a sun. He could tell it was metal, and he could tell it wasn't weak either. Alex tapped it slightly, and with the low noise that came from it, he knew that this shield could stand up to just about anything.

"That shield is, to us, called the Sun Shield," Rick explained, noticing Alex's curiosity. "The name the owner gave it is unknown since the camper kinda died before she let out the secret. It's actually made for the Apollo cabin by the Hephaestus cabin, though no one's really shown any interest in it. Don't know why - it's said to shield off anything imaginable, one of the strongest shields around." Alex heard the names of the gods and instantly plugged them into their powers, leaving the sentence to actually make sense.

"So did the Hephaestus cabin create all of these?" asked Alex. Most of these weapons seemed very strong and durable, even more so than the ones back at the company. This was amazing to Alex because it got him wondering on how several kids could do a better job at creating weapons than the most experienced and most expensive weapon companies out there.

"Not all of them, but most of them," Rick answered.

"So. . .are you interested in any weapons?" asked Matthew. "All campers get to choose and name one, though most wait until they're claimed so -"

"Do you have any knives?" asked Alex, turning around to face them. They looked slightly confused, as if wondering how he already knew what kind of weapon he wanted. He continued to wait for their answer, and after a few seconds, they turned and led him through the shed to a few shelves.

"This is where most of the daggers are, though there could still be a few laying around somewhere." Matthew explained, though Alex wasn't completely listening. Instead, he was sorting out the good from the bad, trying hard to find two that were not only alike, but also ones that were comparable to the two he'd had before.

"You must really know the good weapons from the bad weapons," Matthew commented as Alex glared at one shelf and totally ignored it. He'd gone through just about all of them, only picking up a few before deciding that they weren't completely balanced.

That was when he found two daggers that he instantly knew he liked. The handles seemed like fragile glass, but it was sturdy plastic, and it was at least a half a foot long. The coloring was interesting, because though Alex could tell that it was a dark purple, he could also see it's resemblance to night, and the white sparkling dots proved that it was meant to be similar to the midnight sky.

Both daggers had black hilts, which curled under at the ends as if they were ancient. The sharp, acute knife part of the dagger was a dark gray, and as Alex flicked that part, he figured out it could probably cut just about anything. "Now, if it will fit. . ." Alex murmured quietly, putting the knife up to his lower arm. It fit perfectly.

"What are you doing?" asked Rick, trying to look over Alex's shoulder with curiously and with confusion. The fourteen year old assassin took the knife away from his bracelet and turned to face the two boys.

"Nothing," Alex answered quickly, holding both knives in his right hand. "These are the ones I want." Rick seemed somewhat suspicious, but Matthew spoke before the other boy got the chance.

"So what are you going to name them?" asked Matthew. Alex looked at the boy as if he were ghost, not once considering the fact that he had to name the daggers. "What, you don't name your weapons? Where exactly did you come from?"

"That's none of your business," Alex snapped, his eyes narrowed. Matthew looked only slightly offended, though there was also a hint of curiosity in which made Alex a bit irritated. "Why is naming your weapons so important, anyway? They're just weapons." Matthew shrugged.

"Names have meaning here had Camp Half-Blood," Matthew answered. "So. . .what are you going to name them?" Alex scowled.

"It isn't a rule, so why should I?" Alex demanded. Matthew gave a look of innocence.

"For fun?" Matthew suggested. "Come on - don't be so tense. Naming is just a tradition, and kind of an unspoken rule." Alex narrowed his eyes harder.

"Unspoken rules don't exist," he argued. "They must be said aloud in order to be a rule." Matthew sighed.

"Man, you're making this difficult," Matthew muttered. "Why can you name it just like everyone else?"

"Because I'm not everyone else," Alex growled.

"But you will be," Matthew pointed out with a grin.

"Will not," Alex hissed, his eyes flashing.

"Will to," Matthew argued.

"God, you're annoying," Alex muttered. Matthew's smile widened.

"So I've been told," Matthew responded. "So, will you name the daggers?"

"No," Alex said firmly.

"But why not?" Matthew asked, titling his head to the side.

"Because that is a useless waste of time," Alex hissed.

"Well, isn't this a useless waste of time?" Matthew asked. "Come on. I swear on the River Styx that I'll stop if you name them." Alex glared at the boy. As much as he didn't want to do something so time-consuming, he really wanted the argument to end.

"Fine, but this will be the only time I listen to the likes of you," Alex growled. He thought hard, hoping that it wasn't going to take as long as he thought it would. However, a name came to him as he remembered the night before, when he heard the voice. He barely even knew Greek, but still, the name popped up in his head.

"Mesanyachta," Alex murmured, looking at the handles in which reminded him of the night sky. Rick and Matthew looked at each other again. "Midnight." He looked at him, looked at the daggers, and shrugged, as if understanding.

"Is that for both of them, or. . .?" asked Rick, his eyes narrowed. Alex looked at them, trying to decide if he could create to more names. He wanted to use Mesanyachta, for that name fit them the best, but it was only one name, so he decided that he would use it for both of them. And then two more names came to him.

"Av̱gí̱, for dawn," he said, lifting up the left one. "and for dusk." Alex looked up at the amused boys.

"But they don't look like dawn or dusk at all," Matthew put in.

"You said you would stop if I named them, and I have," Alex pointed out, glaring at the light haired boy. Matthew sighed and didn't say anything else.

After this, they walked out of the armory before leading him to what they called the arena. On the way there, Alex's attention was caught by an archery class. He stopped, his eyes following the kids' movements as they attempted to get the bulls-eye.

One girl, seemingly blond, was having a difficult time with her bow and arrow. Alex analysed her movements, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he remembered his own archery lessons. Through what he could see, she had the bow too low, and her leg needed to go back a few inches.

"Interested in archery, are you?" asked Rick. Matthew was behind him, looking over the lesson as well. "The Apollo kids always seem to be over there. Matthew himself seems to be quite good. Ever tried it?" Alex nodded absent-mindedly.

"I was good enough to get seven bulls-eye's in thirty seconds, but I lost the other three to the second inside ring," Alex told them. "Archery has always been something that I kinda put off, seeing as a bow and arrow are hard to come by, and too big for me to use. I'm better with knives and daggers, though; they're good for both throwing and close combat." Rick shrugged.

"Daggers are okay, but here at Camp Half-Blood, we usually don't use them often since a lot of the campers are more interested in arrows and swords. Besides that, monsters have tough skin, so it's hard to aim a dagger accurately enough to kill it instantly." Probably why most of them were all made so cheaply compared to the other weapons, Alex thought. He was about to remark about Rick's last comment before his ADHD caught the word, 'train.'

"Campers train? Why?" asked Alex, looking over to the two boys with narrowed eyes. "I know that it's good to have the skill, and there are monsters out there, but isn't everyone safe at this camp? Why is there a need to train if they're safe?" Rick blinked.

"Haven't monsters ever attacked you in your earlier life?" Rick asked. If I want an answer, I might as well play along, Alex told himself.

"Only the hell-hounds two days ago, and Lamia last night," Alex said. Matthew tilted his head.

"Really?" he asked. "Huh. Usually attacks happen a few weeks before satyrs can get to them."

"Well, anyway, half-bloods need to train because, in a few months, all of these campers will be headed home to their mortal parent where they will stay until the end of the school year, meaning through all that time, monsters do in fact have a chance to kill them." Rick explained. "Are you going back to your mortal parent?" Alex shrugged.

"Not exactly sure, since I live an orphanage." Alex replied, sending a few realizations into the boys' heads. "I would like to stay here and train a few days, because you seem to have live targets, but I doubt it. Once the orphanage finds out I'm gone, I'll probably stay there till summer vacation or more." Rick tilted his head.

"What did you do, run away?" he asked. Alex sighed.

"Something like that," he replied. "Anyway, what about the campers who don't have a home to go to? Does Camp Half-Blood or whatever just send them away?" Rick shook his head, though it was Matthew who answered.

"Ah, you're talking about the lucky folk who get to stay here all year long," the comical boy said with a dreamy look on his face. "They get to stay all year and train, either for personal reasons or they just don't want to go back. They're usually the ones who go on lots of quests." Alex's eyes narrowed with confusion once again.

"What do you mean by 'quests?'" asked Alex, cautious of the answer. Rick looked pleased to answer.

"A quest is when a few chosen campers go on a mission, as the mortals call it, that usually include saving a demigod and satyr, or even defeating a nasty monster. There are more, but they aren't as common. Anyway, an example would be what Aleah and I did yesterday. On our quest, we saved three demigod sisters from a few basilisks." Alex nodded before Rick and Matthew moved on.

When they reached the Arena, Alex found himself quite amazed and interested, seeing as he was looking at the largest fighting ground he'd ever seen. A few dummies and swords were scattered along the ground while racks held the better swords and more sturdier dummies. Other than that, it seemed like heaven to Alex, seeing as the training center back at the company wasn't as open as this, and it didn't have crying, bloody kids in it as well.

"If a camper challenges another camper to a duel, it usually happens here," Matthew explained. "And sword training is also held here, which is what takes place in the Arena most often." Alex walked to the middle of it and smiled slightly, feeling very comfortable

"So you like it, do you?" asked Rick, picking up two practice swords. "I'm a pretty good fighter with a sword. What about you?" Alex scowled at the practice sword, having an idea where Rick was going with the conversation. Truthfully, he didn't know where to rate himself when it came to sword fighting.

"Swords weren't something I trained often in, but I still managed to get to the top of the lesson each time," Alex explained to the Poseidon demigod. "I still prefer daggers." Rick shrugged before throwing him a sword.

"Wanna have a practice match?" Rick asked, his expression plainly curious. "It doesn't matter if you're any good or not, I just want to have a friendly competition." Alex paused, hesitating as he tried to calculate what a 'friendly competition' meant in the boy's mind, considering back at the company, it meant to not kill them, but to instead gravely wound them.

"I'm not good at fighting people who already know I'm there," Alex murmured, looking at the weak sword.

"Then try something new this time," Rick prompted. "The rules, first of all, since I'm supposed to tell all new campers about it, are as followed. I don't want to get sent to the infirmary, and you probably don't either. You win by disarming your opponent - me - and usually finding an opening that could very well defeat your opponent if it were a real sword fight. Oh, and you can't go out of the Arena." Alex hesitated once again, now uncomfortable about showing his skills to someone else.

"Oh come on, Alex," came Matthew's voice from the side of the Arena. "Don't you wanna see if you can beat Rick? I'm sure the whole camp would know if you did. It's a big deal to defeat a master such as himself." Alex gripped the sword tighter, realizing that he did actually want to show Rick that no, he wasn't like any other camper, and yes, he needed to do other things than be shown around a stupid, fake camp.

The company would kill me on the spot if they were here, Alex reminded himself. But they aren't, and considering there are no security cameras, I'm as safe as I can be.

"Fine," Alex muttered, hardening his stance as he raised the practice sword. "But don't you dare say anything about this outcome." Rick grinned before putting himself in a beginning stance, that of which Alex found no wholes in. The boy had been right - Rick was experienced.

There was a few minutes of silence as Rick seemed to think that Alex would make the first attack. After realizing otherwise, however, Rick attacked, sprinting forward with the weak sword in his hands as Alex quickly calculated the speed. He jumped to the side, evading Rick's attack before bringing his sword in front of him.

The swords clanked together after Rick had quickly turned around to attack after the last one. Alex blocked with his strength, ignoring the soreness in his arm. He pushed off from the swords, stepping back as he made some distance come between him and the Poseidon boy.

"I'm impressed, Alex," Rick admitted. "Most people can't block that attack." Alex ignored the talking as he gripped the sword even tighter, thinking rapidly about what he just saw.

He nearly matches me in speed, and judging by the strength in that last attack, he's almost as strong as I am, Alex thought to himself as Rick dashed forward, his sword raised as he attempted another advantage. If he had as much training as I did, he could be better than me. Alex swiftly blocked the attack, using his other hand to put more force into his weak sword to avoid being overpowered.

He definitely knows how to attack, as well as how do it quickly without alerting my senses, which is more than I can say for pretty much everyone back at the company, Alex thought, once again pushing himself backwards as he evaded Rick's sword. Then again, if he can attack, can he evade? That is one question I need answered. Alex avoided another attack from Rick before dashing off. The only way I can attack is to regain the advantage.

Alex found himself camouflaged behind a rack of hanging dummies which he saw through to notice Rick running toward him. The fourteen year old assassin narrowed his eyes in concentration as he grabbed the top of the rack, trying to time it perfectly. He won't suspect me to do this, considering it would need intense training in agility and speed. Alex thought, smirking slightly. 3. . .2. . .1!

Alex pulled himself over the five-foot rack with his free hand while lunging off the ground with his legs, easily making it over as he kicked toward Rick, who ducked and jumped backwards. Alex landed on the ground with a swift slash of his sword in the boy's direction, his eyes narrowed onto Rick.

Though the Poseidon boy looked slightly shocked, Alex found himself surprised of how much Rick continued to concentrate on the practice fight. He further impressed Alex as he managed to evade each attack and kick that came toward him from the fourteen year old assassin.

Alex was using all of his abilities at this moment. He'd never met the perfect match for him, and so he became excited. With the noon sun warming him, he found his curiosity getting the better of him as he wondered how much Rick could evade.

Alex kicked upward toward the boy's ribs, before twisting and plunging his sword toward Rick's hand so that he could disarm his opponent. Rick, however, evaded the kick and easily sent his sword out to block Alex, who already had another series of attacks ready.

The fourteen year old assassin managed to corner Rick quickly, and as the boy almost hit the wall of the Arena, Alex swerved his sword to hook itself on the hilt of Rick's sword. With a slight pull, the sword was forced out of the boy's hand and flung right into Alex's other hand. Alex then pointed both of his swords right at Rick, who stood with a smile on his face.

"Wow, you're right, you are pretty good," Rick mused, ending the practice fight. Alex sighed, breathing very quickly as he felt sticky sweat on his back. Being this tired after a practice fight was new to Alex, because usually he won easily. However, Rick was very strong and fast.

"If I hadn't shocked you by that one move, you would have won eventually," Alex answered, becoming slightly disappointed with himself. "You're really good with a sword - fast, and very strong." Rick shrugged.

"Not too bad yourself, considering you knew exactly how to get back the advantage," Rick pointed out. "Now, back to the rules. That wasn't exactly the safest practice I've ever took part in." Alex nodded.

"You never told me not to use physical contact," Alex reminded the Poseidon boy, setting the swords down on the ground before he crossed his arms. "I knew that you'd evade it, so how is that breaking the rules?" Rick laughed slightly.

"Very clever, Alex, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a son of Athena," Rick chuckled before Alex noticed Matthew clapping as he walked up to them. The boy held a mischievous grin, leaving Alex to narrow his eyes slightly.

"That was very interesting to watch," Matthew revealed. "You are very talented Alex - I wonder what we could tell Chiron?" Alex gave him a cold glare, one that made Matthew tilt his head to the side.

"This practice fight isn't going to be told to anyone," Alex growled, his fists clenched as he continued to glare at Matthew.

"Why not?" he asked. "You beat one of Camp Half-Blood's best sword-fighters. Wouldn't you like everyone to know that?" Alex's glare hardened. I've already shown the two of you my skills. Telling the entire camp could get me executed.

"I don't want everyone to know that I was nearly beaten," Alex lied.

"Well I don't want everyone to know that I was defeated by a new camper who hasn't even been claimed yet," came Rick's voice. "However, Chiron would like to know he's got a camper who already has sword-fighting down." Alex sent his glare over to Rick, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Come on, we've still got to show you the cabins."


	6. Cold

After the Arena, Alex was shown to the Cabins, which, though slightly interesting, weren't very helpful to the fourteen year old assassin's boredom, which had quickly grown. He noticed the simple things about the cabins, such as the Aphrodite Cabin's luring perfume, and the Hades Cabin's dark aura. There was something special about each of the cabins, and Alex, with his glorious training, noticed every single one of them.

Rick and Matthew showed him to the forest after that, and within the shade of the trees, Alex felt very hidden, which made him very curious. They explained to him about what it was like when they played Capture the Flag in the forest, and Alex became even more interested.

Rick and Matthew took him to the Pavilion, saying that they need dinner before the campfire. Alex wasn't overly excited about dinner or the campfire, but, seeing as he still hadn't devised a plan to get Ethan and Jenna to follow him out of the camp, he decided to follow them.

Alex had to say it was pretty impressive, and it looked very ancient and unique. Even so, he wasn't at all hungry, having taught himself that eating was just a last resort, and so at this point, the dinner seemed like a social gathering that Alex didn't want to be apart of, especially with the night sky becoming so close. . .

"You have to go eat over at that table with Chiron since you haven't been claimed yet," Matthew said, pointing to where the large centaur stood. "I'm going over to the Apollo table. See ya!" The boy then ran over to another table full of kids, a lot of whom Alex already found annoying. Rick laughed slightly.

"I'm heading on over to the Poseidon table, see you soon," Ronan announced, waving slightly. He paused then."Be prepared to get claimed any second, by the way. It should happen within the day." After that word of wisdom, the boy left, forcing Alex to stand there alone like an idiot.

The fourteen year old assassin muttered under his breath before walking over to the table, his senses alert as the caught onto random conversations that he found pointless and boring. He sat, choosing not to eat as his eyes scanned the other tables.

"I heard of the practice fight," came the cool voice of Chiron. Alex tensed, but didn't say anything, refusing to look at the centaur. "Very impressive for a new camper, according to Rick and Matthew." Alex's fists clenched.

"How did they even get to tell you?" Alex asked, his voice harsh. "I was watching them all day." Chiron chuckled.

"Those boys always have their ways," Chiron told the fourteen year old assassin. After that, he left to another side of the table, leaving Alex alone with his angry thoughts.

_Great, now everyone's going to think of me as some great sword fighter and they're going to want to know how I did it. Could I have gotten myself in a bigger mess? This much exposure for the company could land me an execution, though being the leader of the assassins, I doubt it. What am I even doing here, anyway? Oh, right. I need to find a way to get Jenna, Ethan, and I out here without raising in any heads. That seems kind of impossible right now, so I'll just have to wait. It'll cost me more punishment, but it's the only thing that'll work._

Alex continued thinking of strategies which sooner or later ended up calming him down. After about fifteen more minutes, he was completely at ease. That is, however, until everyone started getting up to go over to what they called 'the campfire.' Alex sighed, but followed. He needed to look normal for now.

Then things got crazy. It was nearing sunset, which, of course, bothered Alex. Suddenly, however, the sky became got brighter, becoming a as bright as if it were noon. In just a few more moments, it fell back into sunset before becoming brighter again. It finally went to dusk and stopped, but then everyone was looking above him. When Alex looked upward, he saw a harp, that of brilliant gold. It reminded him of Apollo in the stories.

"Hail Alexander One Three, son of Apollo," came Chiron's voice, standing tall with his horse body. Alex glared at the centaur, his eyes narrowed with anger, but also a flash of confusion. Why was he called 'Alexander?' Did he just lengthen it to sound cooler? As far as Alex knew, his full name was not Alexander.

A few kids congratulated him, but he brushed them off rudely as he followed the crowd. Once Alex saw the campfire, he about puked. This had to have been the most pointless, unproductive, socialized, annoying, and irritating thing he'd ever done.

Alex, having no idea where he was supposed to go, decided that since everyone thought that he was the son of Apollo, he'd sit at near the banner of Apollo, and hope that no one talked to him. Alex sat at the back, once again annoyed as his senses picked up on the small conversations.

It was only a few moments later that Alex realized he was sitting by the girl with wavy brown hair. What was her name again? Ah. Aleah. As far as Alex knew, this girl was more talkative than he liked, so he tried to become invisible.

"Sorry - the Hebe place got a bit full. . ." Aleah told him. There was a small pause. "So, how do you like Camp Half-Blood?" His cold eyes looked into hers, noticing not only the innocence, but also the kindness. Feeling slightly envious, he focused on her question.

"And why do you need to know?" he asked sharply. She seemed slightly offended, but still, she didn't turn away as Alex had hoped.

"Just wonderin,'" she said, smiling as if he hadn't said anything. "You seem like you don't know what to make of all this." She finished, making a wild gesture that made Alex aware that she was talking about the whole camp. Alex narrowed his eyes, forcing his gaze upon the fire now.

"It's all just so stupid," Alex muttered, slightly uncomfortable as he crossed his arms. "Besides, there's no rule saying I should believe it. It all seems too ridiculous to be true." The girl nodded.

"Yeah, it sounded really ridiculous to me too. Two days ago, I wouldn't have believed a word of it," she finished with a small smile on her face. Alex narrowed his eyes, wondering, _She isn't as talkative as other girls. She's. . .shy. Or at least, to me. And she doesn't mind rudeness. She's strange. Very strange._

"Two days ago, my life was at least normal," Alex muttered to himself. "Then came the - what did you guys call it again? Oh right - then came the Hell Hounds, and suddenly I'm here with a glowing thing above my head, whatever the heck that was about." Aleah giggled slightly.

"You were claimed," she stated. Alex narrowed his eyes. Aleah smiled again at Alex's ignorance. "Okay, do you have any parents?" Alex immediately looked away, his eyes gazing upon something different once more.

"No," he answered, his voice low. "I'm an orphan."

Aleah's smile vanished at the realization, but after a few moments, she thought of what to say. "Well. . .a lot of half-bloods are." Alex ignored that statement.

"Right," he muttered sarcastically.

"They are!" Aleah exclaimed, that awful smile reappearing on her face. "Except you aren't really an orphan if you've come here. I mean, at least one of them is alive."

"Oh, you're talking about the symbol," Alex sighed. "And so, now, I'm supposed to be son of Apollo," Aleah nodded.

"Yup," she confirmed, smiling. "That means you're the half-brother of every child of Apollo here. But things get complicated beyond that." Alex, having no desire to really reply to that, ignored her completely. That left them in silence as Alex stared at the campers roasting their marshmallows.

"Um. . .if you don't want to answer, then don't, but is your last name really One Three?" asked Aleah. Alex paused, tensing slightly before looking up to meet her curious eyes.

"Unlucky number, isn't it? One Three?" Alex wondered aloud, avoiding the question. "Thirteen, if you look closely. Ironic, now that I think about it." Alex's gaze drifted, thinking about how exactly to answer the question. He sighed once more, forcing himself to reply. "It's complicated and classified information that I would rather not give here."

"Okay," she said quickly. And the conversation was over.

After that, Alex found that singing was another tradition here (another one he would not take part in), and he also became knowledgeable in the art of roasting marshmallows, which wasn't really an art, but apparently everyone but him knew how to do it. Honestly, he'd read about it, but that was all information that was skipped in his learning because it wasn't important. Why would an assassin want to learn how to roast marshmallows?

He made his first one blacker than coal, and then forced himself to eat it. Alex was actually quite pleased with the taste, having never had one before. It was delicious to him, and so he made more. Alex burnt those too, but he continued to eat them.

That was when Chiron gave the announcement that they would be playing Capture the Flag the following day. Alex listened carefully to the rules, figuring out soon enough that there were two teams, each trying to get one of the flags over to the creek, where they would win. The fourteen year old assassin was alert as Chiron mentioned that wounding an opponent was accepted as long as you didn't kill them.

Alex listened to other conversations, observing them with concentration as he picked up on the small things. Apparently, Hermes and Ares were the flag holders, and each team divided the other cabins amongst themselves. He heard about the magical weapons, as well as others, and he became knowledgeable that the creek was the finish line.

By the time everyone had to go to bed, Alex had to say he was exhausted. Excited as well, though. Very excited. He didn't want to cause pain or anything creepy like that, but he did want to test the camp's average campers. _Maybe the company will be more pleased if I bring back information about this place. _Alex thought. Though he also wanted to try out his new knives.

He followed Matthew to the cabins, though between him and the mischievous boy was a good twenty feet of space in which he let other campers fill seeing as he didn't want to talk to him. Alex found himself in the Apollo cabin in which he was welcomed to nicely. After getting his stuff set up, he lied down and closed his eyes, aware of the moon outside.

_Let's just hope this 'Capture the Flag' thing isn't after sunset,_ Alex thought before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Alex found himself impressed as he woke, noticing that all of the other campers in the cabin opened their eyes at exactly the same time that he did.

They all went outside, and as Alex followed them, he noticed their lack of enthusiasm, as if they'd just been woken up by an alarm at four in the morning. He, however, felt perfectly fine. Better than normal, actually, as if something had given him a burst of energy.

They sang to the sun, which Alex sat in the back and did not participate in, and then they ate breakfast. At that point, Alex ignored them, classifying everyone in the camp as crazy people who only had energy later in the morning when the sun was brighter.

The day went by much quicker than last time. Alex found himself standing out of most of the activities, especially the arts and crafts. The counselors - or whatever they called the adults in charge - yelled at him of course, but he was used to it. Alex just ignored them.

When it came time for the Capture the Flag, Alex became alert, and much less annoyed. He followed Matthew and everyone else to the forest line. He watched as the two teams separated, barely paying attention to anything as he messed with his knife bracelets, which had his Mesanyachta knives already loaded in them. He was making sure they worked in case he would need them.

Chiron walked up after that, making sure he was right in the middle between both teams. "Before the Capture the Flag game begins, I shall remind you of the rules. Guards are allowed next to the flags, but only two, and they cannot be within ten feet of the flag. You may disarm anyone, but you cannot gag them. All magical items are allowed, and remember, I will be the referee and medic. The creek is the boundary, and remember, the flag must be visible. And, the most important rule. you _cannot _kill another camper. You must refrain yourself from only causing minor injuries."

Alex smirked. _I honestly doubt they could catch me._

Alex followed Matthew again, cringing slightly as everyone cheered and ran off to different sides of the forest to spend the next ten minutes before the start of the game to create a plan.

Everyone surrounded the apparent leader of the Hermes cabin. The boy had red hair and emerald eyes. He was toned, and average height as well. "Okay, everyone, gather around so you can get your positions." The boy - who's name Alex had caught on as 'Felix' - gave out orders out to the Athena cabin to instruct the others and have them receive positions. They did so, looking like the President of the United States the whole time. However, Alex was still uncomfortable. Usually it was _him _who gave the orders. It was _him _who told people what to do.

"Aleah and Alexander -," an Athena boy began.

"Alex," Alex growled, interrupting they boy with his eyes narrowed with anger.

"- you two get into the trees and alert the defenders if you spot anything wrong," the boy finished as if Alex hadn't said anything. The fourteen year old assassin's stare grew cold. There was no way they were going to force him to be a mere 'look out' and waste talents that they probably didn't even know possible.

"Excuse me, but I think you've made a mistake," Alex told the boy, who narrowed his eyes with disgust "I can do much more than be a look out, just ask Ryan." The boy shook his head.

"You're a new camper, and you've only been here for two days. You belong in the trees." With that, the boy moved on, barking out more orders as Alex fumed over that response. His fists clenched, but he wasn't about to argue. That would get him no where with a stuck up brat like that.

_I'm making up my own plan, _Alex thought, smirking slightly. _If he doesn't want to understand my talents, I'll show him. _Alex turned around to face Aleah before crossing his arms. "What an idiot." He muttered.

"Well, everyone has their job, and we've had the bad luck of being lookouts." Aleah said sadly, a look of comfort on her face. "Besides, there will be more games." Alex was ignoring her, though. His plan was forming.

When the meeting - or war council, as they ended up calling it - ended, the team dispersed into the trees, each moving to their positions as the Athena cabin had ordered them. Alex ran forward, his ears and eyes alert as the familiar sense of being chased caught up to him. He was finally back on the war field.

He noticed that Aleah was following him, and he could feel her confused gaze upon his back. When Alex got deep enough into the forest, he turned around, which made her stop quickly, slightly surprised by the look in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Aleah asked quietly. Alex could tell by the twitching of her eyes that her ADHD was in full blast, which made him somewhat more comfortable with bringing her along.

"I'm following my own plan," Alex told her, his eyes narrowed with concentration. "If they can't see I'm better using weapons, then I'm going to show them. Are you coming? Just warning you, it isn't going to be the most innocent game of Capture the Flag." Aleah hesitated at the last sentence. Alex didn't blame her.

"S-sure," Aleah answered, giving a bleak smile. Alex paused, but then he thought, S_he's obviously not scared of a little blood, which is good._ _She's not a complete wimp, which means she might actually be useful._

"We need to find the flag," Alex called over his shoulder as they ran. "It's not hard to miss, but it might be further into the forest, and it's probably going to have a billion people scattered around it, but no one fifty feet from it. The flag being from the Ares cabin, I doubt anyone would stand being 'just a guard'." Alex paused, stopping dead in his tracks as he heard Aleah stop behind him. He hesitated, listening to the forest around him. Within a few moments, he got what he needed and turned left.

"There's about five kids behind us, which I believe are lookouts for the red team, and seven in front of us, which are undefined. Two of them are pretty close, so get ready, and make sure you let the ADHD take over. It'll be useful right about now." Alex quickly ran across the creek, making it into red territory as he began to plan his way through the forest.

It was only a few moments later in which Alex saw two people with shields and swords. It was two boys a bit younger than he was, and they both looked very concentrated. They only had time to turn and block themselves from harm with their shields as Alex grabbed his knives and slashed them at the two boys. The Mesanyachta may have only made a nerve-wracking sound by going up against the metal shields, but Alex know knew exactly how weak the shields really were.

After this, the boy on the right took on Aleah while the left one plunged his sword toward Alex. The fourteen year old assassin easily evaded the attack before throwing his knife like a dagger, forcing it to go straight through the shield. The boy leapt backward, his eyes widening in shock.

It was at that point that he noticed the boy Aleah was fighting simply walk off toward the creek. Alex narrowed his eyes at Aleah, though judging by her wide eyes, she had no idea what happened either. Eventually, she knocked the boy in the head with his own shield, sending him to the ground.

The other boy in which Alex was fighting ran forward, a determined look on his face. Alex sighed slightly. _The smart thing to do would to go search for someone to alert, _Alex thought before taking his stance. "Aleah, whatever you did before, do it again." Alex ordered her. Without hesitance, she did as she was told.

"Stop fighting!" Aleah yelled. "Leave us alone!" The boy froze completely before turning around. Alex blinked before he quickly ran over and hit the boy in the neck with the pommel of Soúroupo and watched the boy fall right before his feet. The fourteen year old assassin sighed with relief as he looked to Aleah.

_"_Nice trick you have there," he mused. "Make sure you remember how to use it."

"I don't even know how it works," Aleah admitted. "But I think I just have to yell at them." She looked at the sky. "If the sun goes down, I think I'll be too tired to fight. . ."

"For your life, hope that this assign - I mean, _game - _ends before then," Alex murmured. He pulled Av̱gí̱ out of the shield he'd thrown it in, making only a minimum amount of noise as he put it back in his bracelet, doing the same with Soúroupo before looking at Aleah. "Don't. Say. Anything." Alex growled sternly. "Come on, we should keep moving before the red team catches up to us." With those words, Alex turned around, and ran in the same direction as before.

Alex's ears picked up the sound of metal clanking against each other to his left, leaving him to calculate that the blue team had already crossed over to the red, but had been caught by a few red people, making him think further into his plan.

They fought a few more of the red team, overpowering them easily. Aleah continued using her speaking power, though she looked very tired afterward. Alex just used his knives, and since his opponents only expected spears, bows, and swords, he was doing quite well.

_The blue team would have scattered their opponents because they know Ares plan. I need to be careful, and I need something to figure out which direction to go. . ._ Alex's eyes narrowed tightly as he heard someone running toward them. Judging by the rush, Alex could tell they were from the red team, though either way, he didn't want to be seen.

"Let's climb the tree," he whispered to Aleah, his dark brown eyes looking straight at her in the seriousness of the situation. "They're too fast for us to run from." With that, he almost literally ran up the side of the tree like the parkour boys. He quickly grabbed a branch as gravity took a hold of him before pulling himself up and into the tree. Alex continued climbing until he was almost all the way up, barely noticeable through the branches and leaves.

Aleah climbed up soon after him, making Alex slightly impressed. He let his senses free, reaching as far as he could so that he was able to hear the red team when they passed by. The fourteen year old assassin heard them coming, but they suddenly stopped a few trees away from them, breathing heavily enough for the whole forest to hear them.

Alex shifted himself carefully and quietly on the tree so that he could see through the leaves and branches. He caught sight of the three tired team boys, two of them quite small and skinny while the other one looking like a buff wrestler that came from the Ares cabin.

"We can't stop. We need to keep moving," The buff Ares cabin boy urged the two other boys who looked as if they were going to pass out as they leaned against the trees. "Those two blue team kids will get to the flag soon if we're not careful." Alex's eyes narrowed with concentration, analyzing that information as he received it. _So we're close? _Alex thought.

"Can't we stop for just a few moments?" asked the smaller of the three boys. "I can hardly breathe because we've been chasing them so long!" The other boy murmured in agreement, but the Ares guy just scoffed.

"No. We've already got enough problems with that one girl as the guard," the Ares boy told them with his rough voice of irritation. "With as many ties she has with the other cabins, I doubt her ability to stand up against the Hermes team."

"That one girl? The one who almost refused?" asked one of the boys, glancing in a certain direction before shrugging. "Yeah, I kinda have to agree with you on that one." The Ares boy seemed a bit annoyed at this, rolling his eyes a bit. Alex smirked; now he knew exactly where to go.

"Whatever," the Ares boy muttered. "You've had your rest. Now let's get going before they actually do get to the flag." The other two boys nodded in agreement before running off in the same direction Alex and Aleah had come from.

Alex narrowed his eyes as he jumped out of the tree, cleanly landing on the ground as he continued to think of what he just learned. _Judging by what they said, we're close, and by how that boy reacted, I can already tell it's this way. What about that girl guard? They said she had ties with the cabins from the Hermes team. . .Ah well, that isn't as important._

Alex only had a few moments to think as Aleah dropped down beside him, her scowl showing the fourteen year old assassin that she was focused, and that she, too, had caught on to all of the signals given in that one conversation.

"We're heading in this direction," Alex told the daughter of Apollo, just making sure she understood. Aleah nodded distantly before they ran forward, the fourteen year old assassin having already classified the wavy brown haired girl as 'above average.'

Alex continued running in that direction, his eyes to flickering in several directions at once as he made sure no one was following him. _We're getting close, and the red team is most definitely either searching for us in the wrong direction, guarding the flag, or chasing and fighting the blue team. We could actually win this._

Alex noticed the red team quickly after, and with his keen sense of sight, he saw the red flag flickering in the distance. His attention went back to the guards, which had been alerted of their arrival, and were now ready with their weapons out. His knives came out of their bracelets and into his hand, and he grabbed them as he and Aleah jumped right into the battle.

Alex ran forward, taking on a long brown haired girl with emerald eyes. There was only one other guard that Alex could see, and Aleah had begun to fight her. It was a familiar girl, and Aleah looked quite worried while battling her, which made the fourteen year old assassin anxious. Alex only received this information before his knives blocked himself from the boy's sword.

The knives were strong enough to push the sword away with the help of Alex's strength, leaving the girl slightly surprised. However, this also left her very determined, for her expression quickly turned into a concentrated scowl in which made her movements quicker and harder to follow.

Alex blocked her sword, which had once again swung itself toward him with the strength of the older girl, to which the fourteen year old assassin scowled at. Alex pushed the sword down with his knives again, using the advantage of two weapons wisely as he locked her sword there, unable to allow it to move unless she pulled backwards, which she knew could very while get herself killed in the end.

Alex let go of her sword, but at the same time, leaped off of the ground, giving a quick swift kick in her general direction. It was meant to hit her side, but instead she was surprisingly quick enough to go back wards and swing her sword again.

At this point, Alex was ticked off, and he wanted badly to just get the flag and leave. The fact that she was really fast made it even worse, because that meant it would be that much harder to kill her. Well, defeat her anyway.

Alex blocked the sword, but this time, he allowed the swords to come together in a triangular point in which the sword was now hooked in. The fourteen year old assassin then jumped aside, bringing the sword back to her neck as he now stood behind her.

"Didn't think I could do that, did you?" he asked darkly, making the girl widen her eyes. He blinked, getting a bloody image out of his head as he tried to focus on the task ahead. Alex let go of her sword just as he kicked her to the ground, both of his knives easily resting in his hands as he stared down at the girl.

The strong girl was trying to crawl through the forestry to get her sword which was now lying five feet away from her. Alex's thought process allowed the world around him to slow down as he carefully planned out his next move.

_I need to take the sword and help Aleah get rid of the other girl before taking the flag and heading back toward the creek. _Alex thought, but he paused, his mind twisting in a dark, morbid way that made him glance at the evening sun before looking back at the girl. _I could just make her become numb with pain to the point she could see or hear anything. . .though I guess that would be breaking the rules._

The next movements were almost to hard for the fourteen year old assassin to follow, had it not been for the fact he was not only trained for this, but his mind was also shifting to catch them. He caught the girls movement as she pushed herself off of the ground after grabbing her sword tightly with her hand.

Alex took one step back as she almost literally lunged in his direction like a bloodthirsty animal, her sword ready to cut off his head as she held it to the side. Alex blocked the attack from the side, kicking her stomach once again as all emotion faded from his expression, his eyes no doubt growing purple with the iciness that was to come.

The girl took a few steps back, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she lunged once again, this time with her sword in front of her. Alex swiftly took a step forward, surprising the girl before he incoherently plunged the knife in to her chest, not even flinching as he realized what he'd done.

He took out the knife, ignoring the thick red liquid covering the blade as the girl flipped over and fell to the ground in an odd position, her eyes wide in fear. The sword clattered in off into the distance, right in front of Aleah and the other guard in fact. The girl was not breathing as the pace around Alex sped up, and the fourteen year old assassin classified her as 'dead'.

_That was against the rules, I know it was, but I can't feel sorry for her, her cabin, or anyone else. She's dead, and I've got an assignment to finish. _Alex thought, his expression returning to a concentrated scowl as he saw the girls blood pool around her. He looked over to the other two, who had stopped fighting and were now staring at the girls body, both very, very shocked at the sight their eyes were on.

The other guard - whom Alex remembered as Audrey, a relative of Aleah's if he remembered right - seemed speechless as she looked from the body, to him, her eyes still wide with shock and fear that the fourteen year old assassin had honestly expected to see upon her face.

Knowing full well the Poseidon girl would not try to attack them after seeing that, Alex gave a long stare at Aleah before swiftly moving into a jog toward the red flickering flag, which was right there for the taking.

Alex ran up to it, aware of Aleah following him. He quickly put one of his knives back into it's bracelet, making sure the bloody one continued to stay in his right hand as he grabbed the pole of the large flag with his right. With a sigh of relief, Alex ran back toward the creek, only to hear a familiar horn that made him stop in his place, aware that it meant something important.

When Alex turned around, he found the centaur, Chiron, stand before him, looking sorrowful and stern. Have a good idea of _why_ Chiron looked like that, Alex frowned, his eyes narrowed back into a scowl as he glared at the immortal centaur.

_I broke the rules. I should have known punishment was next._

* * *

**_A/n: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians_**

_Hi! Um, lately I've been getting mixed signals on my fighting scenes and, considering that they're always a big part in my books, I would like to hear your opinion. Is it corny or cheesy? Is it cool? Is it exciting? Is it realistic? I would really like to know since I hope to publish a book outside of the internet world. =) Thanks!_

_-+- The Endless Hourglass, may time be with you._


	7. Rules

"The Red team wins by default." Chiron's booming voice called out to the entire forest, leaving the scattered red team to cheer, and others to either yell with anger or murmur in confusion. Alex was pleased when Chiron didn't announce why - that would be quite dangerous.

Alex watched as Chiron gestured for the fourteen year old assassin to follow him. He was somewhat fearful, of course, of what was to come, having been through situations similar to the scene before him. As Alex followed the centaur, he accidentally let his mind momentarily slip back to when he was younger, and he was still learning the rules and limitations upon living at the company. Shuddering slightly, he pushed his thoughts forward, away from that memory.

As what seemed to be happening a lot in the past few days, Alex found himself having no clue as to where he was going, and the fourteen year old assassin had to once again settle on following the one who did, which was, of course, Chiron. This bothered Alex, considering he was the one who was usually followed, but he ignored that as well.

They'd walked out of the forest and into camp by nightfall, and as the fresh moonlight finally reached Alex, his muscles grew tense, aware of a shifting point of view and train of thought. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he clenched his hands together, wishing Chiron would wait until the next day to do anything to him, whatever that might be.

_This isn't good. My thoughts are all jumbled, and they aren't in order. I guess I should be used to this since this is always what happens to my brain after I'm about to get punished, but honestly, this is too much. I guess with it being nightfall it doesn't help, but I've never been this nervous and insecure before._ Alex's thoughts continued to become choppy and jumbled as he thought more about it, but there was no way he could completely stop thinking. It wasn't possible, technically.

By the time the fourteen year old assassin realized it, they were walking into the Big house. However, it was a different entrance. Apparently they weren't going to the infirmary, but instead another room. It looked more official as he walked in, and it was unfamiliar. So unfamiliar that the insecurity he was feeling doubled once again.

"I understand, Alex, that you don't come from a normal place, and that you weren't brought up as a normal child, but even in those circumstances did I expect you to follow the rules. Especially the one you managed to break today." Chiron told Alex as he faced the fourteen year old assassin with a stern expression that could match a professor's.

Alex, having no idea what to do otherwise, put on a scowl and crossed his arms, scoffing as he heard what the 'immortal' centaur had to say. "The punishment for the rule that I broke only resulted in no desert for a week, if I heard correctly, and how would you know even know that much about me? I've been under any radar ever created, and I always will be. In fact, I actually congratulate Ethan on the fact he could even locate me." Chiron's expression didn't change. By natural instinct, Alex could tell that this half horse half human was not in the best mood possible at that moment.

"No one has dared kill one of their own kind," Chiron replied. "And so no punishment has been necessary to give. As to your question, satyrs have a very keen sense of smell, and to answer the question before that, the same satyr you were talking about gave me the information."

"So you train the satyrs to become spies?" Alex remarked, his eyes now very concentrated on what was at hand. If Ethan and the other satyrs were spies, then that meant he just found something the company would love to hear. Somehow, however, Alex doubted any of this.

"No, they are simply sent out to find half-bloods like yourself and bring them here before the kids get devoured by a monster," Chiron shot back at him, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Ethan did as asked, but you captured him, and for two weeks he was able to observe all that happened down where he was. Ethan only told me because he was worried." Alex scoffed, looking elsewhere in the room as he concentrated on calming himself down and ordering out his thoughts.

"I have only one more question," Chiron stated after a dull silence. Alex's breath quickened slightly as he prepared for the consequence. "Why would you kill an innocent girl that's older than you in an innocent game?" Alex's eyes instantly shot back to Chiron.

"There are several reasons," Alex told the tall centaur sharply. "One, it's what I was trained to do in an impossible situation; two, I wasn't exactly thinking straight thanks to the setting sun; and three, it was the only way to get past that girl to get the flag and finish the assignment." Alex didn't correct himself on that one - he didn't need to. Apparently, Chiron was quite aware of what the company was.

The centaur looked at him with a pitiful look that the fourteen year old assassin despised. "I'm curious as to how you even ended up in that horrible place. No boy should have to go through that, especially one of such a young age." Alex's eyes narrowed harder as he clenched his fists.

"How I was put in that company is nobody's business but my own," Alex hissed coolly. "I don't regret being trained there, either. I learned a lot from the company." Chiron's eyes were narrowed, but soft as the fourteen year old assassin finished.

"You could learn just as much here, Alex - maybe even more." Chiron told him, sounding gentle and careful, as if Alex was fragile.

"I doubt it," Alex shot back at him, his arms still crossed as he stood straight up. "This camp has too many people with a variety of values and differences to be a properly working operation. It's nothing more than it's name: a camp." Chiron was stern once more.

"At least we don't let them become scarred by letting them fight before ten years of age." Chiron pointed out, hoping to catch Alex. However, the trained assassin was fast at creating a comeback.

"At least the company is real," Alex shot back. "It's not a fake camp full of kids who think they're the children of gods and goddesses who don't exist, and they're training to supposedly protect themselves against a force that isn't real." Chiron's eyes narrowed, but in confusion this time.

"You still don't think any of this real?" asked the centaur, shifting his weight. "You fought a child-eating demon, you've seen a satyr, you've seen me, a centaur, and you've witnessed yourself being claimed. How could you not believe any of it?" Alex shrugged, obviously unimpressed.

"Technology has reached a far enough state where all of this could be created by screens and magic tricks," Alex growled, his voice almost unrecognizable. "I don't have to believe it, and I won't. I am not the son of Apollo, this camp is not full of other half-bloods, and instead a growing business that will eventually make it's way to become just like the company I belong to, and I did not kill a demon. I'm the same as I was three days ago, and I always will be."

Another silence reined over the conversation as Chiron's eyes locked with Alex, who was no closer to backing down than to believe what was happening around him. The centaur's tail was swishing irritably, and he looked no happier than a few minutes ago.

"Alex, what I saw today was something I've rarely laid eyes on, and whether you believe it or not, you are apart of this camp, and you shall be until I allow you to leave." Chiron was talking in a level, yet authoritative voice that made Alex tense once more. "Since you don't believe it, I'll send you on a quest, which will be based on something that is familiar to you. Maybe then will you see that this is actually real."

Alex gritted his teeth, forcing back a comment he was about to make. _As much as I would love to just run away and never return, I need Jenna and Ethan. I could steal them now, but. . .Well, forty excellent fighters all after me at the same time is not the best thing in the world. And besides, I'll only make things worse for myself. I must follow the rules this time, and I must accept the punishment._

"What are the requirements?" asked Alex, his voice low as he stared at the centaur who now had his eyes widened slightly.

"You will leave tomorrow morning on a chariot to Nebraska, where you will go to Atkinson city, and then retrieve a demigod that has made quite a scene in the past few days. You will have two companions, but you will not choose them. Aleah will be one, since she was there with you today, and she can choose the other. Make sure you tell her that. Besides this, I must point out that you cannot allow any of them to get killed or injured unless it is a situation where it cannot be avoided. You may not return unless you have the demigod, understood?" Alex nodded, but he didn't leave. As the saying in the company goes, 'you can't leave the lion's den until he's done eating you.'

"Swear upon the River Styx that you'll do as I have told you," Chiron ordered. Alex stiffened.

"I swear on the River Styx that I will leave to Nebraska tomorrow and along the way to retrieve this demigod, I will not allow any of them to get hurt unless it cannot be avoided. I will not return or abandon this quest unless I have given the demigod to Chiron."

With a wordless gesture, Chiron dismissed him. Alex nodded slightly before walking swiftly out of the big house, becoming quick as he tried hard not to stomp like a raging storm. He remembered instantly of where the Hehe cabin was, and so he turned toward the Cabins and made his way there.

Before entering the cabin he paused and took a deep breath in._ It's nothing to be angry about, and this is far less than I would have gotten at the company. It's simple, easy, and I don't have to clean up anybody's body._ Alex sighed._ I just have to put up with two inexperienced idiots who don't know anything about abducting a child._ Alex shook out those thoughts, realizing he was calm now. He then opened the door, seeing almost the entire Hebe cabin in there.

Everyone stared at him, probably wondering why he was so late. Alex had a feeling they didn't know anything from Aleah, only because they weren't yelling or looking at him with complete horror. He was kind of glad for that.

"Aleah, I need to talk to you outside," Alex announced loud enough for the wavy brown haired girl to hear. He was staring straight at her, trying hard to ignore the other people in the room. Aleah hesitated, but eventually followed him

When both Alex and Aleah were outside, he motioned for her to close the door. She did so quickly, her eyes narrowed with confusion. The fourteen year old assassin no longer had his muscles tensed, and at this point, he was literally on a mission.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" asked Aleah curiously. "Is it about what happened during the Capture the Flag game?" Alex shook his head, ignoring what she said for the time beginning.

"Chiron's orders," Alex told her simply, shrugging slightly. "It's a quest, and we're leaving tomorrow. He said that you're coming, along with someone else that you have to pick." Aleah's eyes narrowed even more.

"Why?" she asked. His stare hardened.

"Don't know. It was Chiron's decision, not mine," Alex murmured, trying to keep this conversation short since he honestly just wanted to go to bed. "Pick someone older. It might help, considering both of us are the same age." Alex passed her after that and walked toward the Apollo cabin.

* * *

As the next day came, Alex found himself already the center of attention, for somehow, the whole camp now knew that the fourteen year old assassin had something to do with yesterday's event.

He'd woken up just like any normal day, his eyes blinking open at sun rise. He just straightened out his cloths - having no desire to put on what the normal campers wore - and walked out of the Apollo cabin before anyone else, avoiding their annoyed looks.

Simply because Alex wanted to avoid more attention than he was already assuming he was going to get, he waited for the rest of the Apollo cabin, who attempted to stay out of his way. He followed them and once again found himself in the back as the rest of the cabin sang.

The fourteen year old assassin noticed Matthew beside him, who glanced in his direction with uncertainty. The mischievious boy who was simply annoying to Alex just two days ago was now avoiding his gaze.

During breakfast, Alex grabbed Aleah away from the Hebe table and asked, "Did you decide on who the third person will be?"

Aleah's gaze drifted. "No, I'm still deciding. We've planned on getting someone older," she answered, looking at him with a bleak smile. "More experienced and whatnot." Alex nodded, pausing for a second.

"Definitely," Alex responded. He thought for a few moments before he remembered Aleah's cousin and how well she was using her sword. "Maybe your cousin?" He honestly didn't want _two _young girls on the quest with him, but if it meant getting the assignment over with, he knew he'd have to put up with it.

"She's only been here for two weeks. . ." Aleah murmured, making Alex almost sigh with relief.

"Oh, that's news. We'd need a much more experienced camper." Alex said aloud, mostly to himself. He then remembered of his first thought. Rick. He was an excellent fighter, and he wasn't painfully annoying either. _Hmm, let's see if she can figure this out on her own. _"What about an _older_ child of the Big Three? One who has been here longer than two weeks?"

"Oh yeah, that would be good, but not a child of Hades. That wouldn't mix well with a kid of Apollo." Aleah responded. Alex nodded in agreement, and then he went back to the Apollo table. Alex then continued to think of the upcoming assignment as if this was just another job coming from the company.

_I need to find out what kind of 'Chariot' we're using. Judging by the pegasi barn and that everyone here believes in Greek tales, it will be a flying chariot that rides through the sky. That would mean that we'll get there in. . .two days at most? Depends on the speed. . .well, I've seen the pegasi fly, and they go faster than a car. I can't make calculations biased off of that thought though. . _.Alex sighed, becoming irritated once more._ It seems like I have to wait then. _

By the time all of the other cabins had finally become active, whispers came from behind him, stares came from in front of him, and questions from the braver of campers were already directed toward him. Alex could hear most of what the whispers were about, and he was relieved to find that still, no one knew about the girl he'd killed. They were, however, suspicious of what he had to do with it.

Apparently a few Hermes kids had seen Alex walk into the Big house with Chiron, and could tell by their expressions that something horrible had happened. With that, more than a few false rumors also went around, making Alex irritated as he ate breakfast.

At this point, the fourteen year old assassin just needed to wait for Aleah to pick someone, and then they'd be off. So, being completely bored, Alex started thinking to himself about what he'd need to do to get back to the company without being caught, which would probably add a month to punishment.

"By how early you seem to have awoken, you are from the Apollo cabin, are you not?" asked someone whom Alex had not heard before. The fourteen year old assassin blinked away his previous thoughts, finding a light haired girl in front of him, a knowing expression on her face.

"You're observant," Alex stated simply. The girl, though seemingly innocent and ignorant, gave a nod, understanding him completely. She seemed older than her physical appearance, as if her maturity level was growing but she wasn't. _I'm guessing she's supposed to be somewhat immortal. They did a pretty good job at training this girl to act so, though._

"Some seem to say so," the girl agreed, giving a short smile. It faded to where it was covered with a scowl. "A quest is in your future, isn't it? And yet, you haven't come to see me, like all half-bloods do before such a dangerous adventure." Alex's eyes narrowed into a scowl, trying to remember if Chiron mentioned anything.

"I wasn't aware that you existed," Alex answered truthfully. "And why would I see you about a quest?" The girl's eyes narrowed slightly, as if confused, before she replied.

"I am Cassidy, the Oracle of Camp Half-Blood," the girl told him simply. "Before a camper leaves on a quest, they find it wise to see me, for I see their future and what is in store for them." Alex's eyes relaxed a little, sighing.

"Oh, right, forgot about Oracle's," Alex muttered, his gaze shifting elsewhere. The girl, Cassidy, narrowed her eyes, confused for a few moments before she made a small, swift movement forward, her hand reaching out and somehow surprising Alex.

What happened next was one of the most confusing things the fourteen year old assassin had ever seen in his life. The girl touched him - and how she managed to do that without him noticing was beyond him - before his vision changed completely as if it were just a foggy scene in front of him. It sharpened enough for him to know what was going on in just a few moments.

"To three who seek the morning light," came Cassidy's voice, though it was somehow different. Alex was drawn away from that by noticing three figures before him which were in front of an almost dull yet blinding light. The fourteen year old assassin recognized himself in the middle, along with Aleah to his right, and to his left was Rick. It was pretty darn obvious of what was being implied.

"Be wary come the shadows of night," Cassidy continued, forcing the scene in front of him change. He was running down a dark empty street, a loud roar behind him signaling the need to run for one reason or another. He knew two other people were behind him, both equally worried and determined to get out of that situation alive.

"A contrary child; A promise to hold," Cassidy went on, making the vision shift once again. Now Alex could see himself looking quite angry, mostly at himself. But why on would he be angry at himself? _This isn't real, smarty,_ Alex told himself. _It's just a trick_.

"And from another, shall it unfold," As Cassidy continued Aleah showed up, smiling widely as if everything was right in the world.

"One holy question shall one come to meet," Cassidy continued with the creepy voice. Alex couldn't see anything but a bright room as he heard strong authoritative voices. They all seemed pretty hostile, as if they were creatures, not humans. "But thee with thy wisdom remain incomplete."

Alex blinked before his eyes recognized the next scene. He realized he was back at camp as if nothing had happened. When he looked over to try and see the girls face, he found that she was gone, no where to be seen.

The fourteen year old assassin found himself breathing slightly fast, though he managed to calm it down quite quickly. He sighed, still analyzing why he saw. Alex knew none of it could be true - it was just something they did to try to make him believe.

"You!"

_Oh great,_ Alex thought, having noticed the girl only seconds before she pointed at him, her eyes tightly narrowed. The girl was short with long dark brown hair, and her eyes were emerald just the other one's. With at least ten kids behind her, Alex had a feeling he knew which cabin they all belonged to.

All of them marched over to his table, looking equally angry and very, very serious, which confirmed the suspicions. The fourteen year old assassin watched as the head of the cabin continued to point at him, her other fist tightly clenched at her side.

"You killed her!" the girl yelled out angrily. "In a harmless game like that, you killed her! How could you do that to Katherine? What grudge did you think that would solve? You foul - inconsiderate - little -"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," Alex muttered, his voice calm and careful, though filled with warning. "I'm a bit new here, so bare with me, but what cabin are all of you from?" There was a brief silence, though the girl that lead them seemed too fumed to care about the question.

"We're from the Nemesis cabin, dimwit!" the girl snapped, her eyes narrowed into slits as her red face seemed to boil with anger. "And we will get our revenge! You killed the head of our cabin, and you will pay!" Alex glanced around, realizing that a few people had stopped and stared at the scene. Obviously the body wasn't brought in until late last night.

"Hopefully I won't be here long enough for you to do that," Alex told her, still calm as he gazed into her eyes. "I'm leaving soon, and I don't plan on returning. Still, I congratulate you on making such a fuss. Now everyone will pretty much know how angry you can get over such a small matter." There were a few gasps at that sentence, their eyes wide with shock. Even the girl in front was surprised.

"You. . .Y-you monster!" the girl shrieked, making Alex narrow his eyes tightly.

"Erm, Alex? We're ready to go." Alex looked over to his left to find Aleah and Rick standing with an awkward look on their faces as they glanced from the Nemesis cabin to him. Alex stood up and brushed himself off.

"Good," Alex replied. "I have a feeling that certain news will spread quickly, and I -" A sharp movement interrupted him, and before he could distinguish who it came from, Alex grabbed Av̱gí̱ after releasing it and blocked the blade that was coming toward him. They collided with a loud clank, and suddenly, everyone eating had now stopped and become quiet.

The girl who had been arguing with him had her sword out, and though she had the superior strength, Alex was holding his own. They stared at each other, both refusing to let down their weapons.

After a small pause, the fuming Nemesis girl shrieked, "You deserve to die after what you did!" She released the pressure from her sword and swung the blade toward his neck. Alex was about to block again, when a horse's flank got in the way.

"What in the gods names is going on here?" Chiron demanded, his tail swishing with irritation. There was a hesitation from the 'audience.'

"Elena attacked Alex when he was unaware, sir," Rick explained. Chiron looked to the Nemesis girl.

"That is against the rules, Elena," Chiron reminded the girl. She narrowed her eyes and gripped her sword harder.

"There needs to be justice for what he did!" Elena yelled.

"Ah, that," Chiron murmured with a small sigh. He glanced over to Alex. "I believe you are to be on a quest right now?" Alex narrowed his eyes, but followed Rick and Aleah toward the stables, leaving whatever masterpiece _that _would become behind.


	8. Prey

Alex sighed slightly as he saw the pegasi, wondering how on earth they pulled that off without making it look totally unrealistic. The winged horses actually seemed pretty real, and their wings did as well. There were two pegasi, and both of them were a flawless white. They seemed sort of bored at first, but when the three of them came nearer, the pegasi put their ears back as they pawed at the ground nervously.

Rick glanced from the pegasi to Alex a few times before smiling slightly. "Don't quite like you, do they?" Alex narrowed his eyes with confusion.

"What?" was all Alex cared to ask. Rick shrugged, still smiling lightly.

"All kids of Poseidon kids can speak to pegasi." Rick explained. "Mostly, Apollo kids get along great with the creatures. You, however. . .they seem to be unsure about. They say you're too mysterious." Alex crossed his arms.

"Oh, right." Alex said bitterly, his voice full of sarcasm. "And because they're prey, mysterious feelings lead to fear."

Rick glanced over to Aleah with a tilted head, but Aleah simply shrugged. She obviously had nothing to say to that either. Alex sighed lowly with annoyance before a boy about two years older than Alex was walked over.

"The Chariot is all ready for you," the lean yet muscular boy told Rick. "Be careful around sharp turns because little Star on the left is younger than most, and she hasn't had much experience." Rick nodded.

With that, the three of them entered the chariot. Alex went to the back, following his instinct, while Rick and Aleah found themselves both in the front. The son of Poseidon took the reins after checking with Aleah. He gave a harmless flick of the reins, and both of the white pegasi flapped their winds and ran forward, shooting into the sky with the black chariot following them.

Alex watched as the camp grew further and further away until it was completely masked by the fluffy white clouds they flew into. It was an amazing invention, no doubt. The chariot must have had a propeller below it, and the pegasi, as much as he thought that they were real horses with fake wings, must have been a projection or a machine, which was incredible. _Maybe I should look into the inventors of this place,_ Alex thought._ The blueprints could prove useful for the company._

The next few moments were spent in silence. Aleah and Rick kept glancing at each other, and Alex simply looked off in the distance. Thinking, mostly, about things that he'd need to say and do when he returned to the company.

"So. . .did you get a prophecy from the Oracle, Alex?" Aleah asked, making his gaze move toward her. He paused for a few seconds, noticing that, though Rick was pretending to focus on the sky, he was listening as well.

"Yeah, she managed to find me this morning," Alex replied, his arms crossed. "Cassidy, wasn't it? Very odd girl. I don't quite remember a prophecy - well, I guess I wouldn't exactly know what those were. What she told me could have been a peek into the future, I guess." Aleah looked at him with surprised eyes..

"Well, what did she do?" asked Rick, his eyes still focused ahead. Alex's eyes narrowed as he thought, _This thing is probably on autopilot. He's just pretending. _

"What was she supposed to do?" Alex asked suspiciously. "Keep in mind that I'm a child of Apollo."

"Normally, her eyes change color and she talks differently," Rick explained, making Alex's scowl grow tenser. So what happened was abnormal even in their standards. _Even then,_ Alex thought, _this could just be a trick to force me into believing I'm 'special.'_ "But anyway - what did she say to you?" Alex shrugged, looking as if it were not big deal.

"Something about seeking morning light, a promise, a. . .child, and a chose in which ends with someone remaining incomplete." Alex murmured.

Aleah tilted her head with curiosity before asking, "What did she actually say?" Alex shot her a glare, his dark brown eyes flaring slightly.

"Does it matter?" asked Alex, his arms still crossed. "They're just words - I portrayed them with the same words she used." Aleah narrowed her eyes in confusion, but she didn't look sad or offended.

"Prophecies matter a lot, Alex, and they can only make perfect sense if it is told exactly the same way as the oracle - Cassidy - has told it." Rick explained. "I think it would save us all a little trouble if you told us what the full prophecy was." Alex looked at Rick's back as he continued to fly the chariot. He wondered briefly if he could just knock the boy out and fly the chariot himself. Aleah would probably be scared enough to stay away, and they'd get the girl a lot faster.

_But I made a promise,_ Alex reminded himself._ I. . .I can't break the requirement of bringing these two back alive. That would only result in more punishment and then when I get back to the company. . ._ Alex sighed, calming himself._ I am not scared. I cannot be scared. 'Fear only keeps the mind from going through with the objective. Fear is an evil all must overcome in order to kill, or do anything worth their own life.'_ Alex repeated these words, remembering the day he had been forced to learn it.

"Fine, but only because you two won't shut up otherwise." Alex muttered. "To Three who seek the morning light; Be wary come the shadow night; A cautious child - a promise to hold; And from another, shall it unfold; One Holy question shall one come to meet; But thee with thy remain incomplete." Aleah and Rick were both quiet at that moment, and it remained so for several more moments.

"Obviously the three who seek the morning light is us," Rick stated.

"The 'wary child' part is what confuses me," Aleah murmured. "Maybe it's it the demigod that we're going to find." Rick shrugged, his eyes still looking forward as he drove the chariot.

"Could be. The holy question. . .that is a huge thing, considering the gods don't normally help us demigods on every quest." Rick explained. "I'm clueless as to what 'incomplete' means, though."

"Maybe my dream could make more sense, then," Aleah suggested. "It very was different than what the prophecy said." Aleah looked shy as Alex looked at her. The son of Poseidon, however, quickly asked for an explanation of the dream.

"Apollo came to me in a dream," she explained, looking at the floor of the chariot. "He told me that his sun chariot was lost, and we were going to find it. But he didn't say anything more than that. Apparently he'd said too much." Rick nodded, his eyes distant.

"Your dream is rare," Rick explained. "Apollo doesn't usually come into anyone's dreams to give them information like that, especially kids that aren't his own. I wonder why he didn't get into Alex's dream?" _Because it wasn't real, _Alex answered.

"Apollo said that Alex isn't easy to while he's sleeping," Aleah replied. Alex's scowl hardened again, and Rick was, for once quiet. After awhile the Poseidon boy asked more questions about the dream, and Aleah answered them all. Alex, however, had not desire to listen to interpretations of fake dreams and instead thought of his plans once they landed.

It took them awhile, but eventually they landed. And, of course, there was a problem. They landed in front of a familiar airport, one he'd been to at least four times before. It was larger than he remembered, but the one thing Alex did know was that they were on the wrong side of the airport.

And in the wrong state.

_We need to get across if we're to get to the city,_ he thought looking back to notice that the chariot was gone._ And to find more transportation considering none of us have enough money for a plane-ride. I wonder if we could just go across. . ._As if to read his mind, Rick threw out the idea quickly as the managed to find themselves near the edge, able to go right through the airport.

"We're directly over the Indiana International Airport, and there are planes everywhere. We can't get through without attracting attention." Rick murmured.

"Well why can't we just go around them all?" Alex muttered. "It's not like anything important will notice us."

"Oh, trust me, they will notice." Rick said grimly. "There are all sorts of monsters in executive positions like this, and the mortals could see something too strange to explain." Alex muttered something to himself, but nothing was heard.

Alex looked for ways out of the situation. In a time like this, there were often clues to a shortcut. The problem was how to take a shortcut that would not be noticed. There were many ways around the airport, but it was so large and so out in the open that none of them would work. That was their only choice, though.

"Why did those stupid horses leave, anyway?" Alex asked. Rick narrowed his eyes.

"They aren't stupid, and they aren't just horses," Rick growled. "There must be some sort of barrier preventing them from going any further. Which means there's _definitely _a monster here."

"Can't we just go around, then?" Alex asked.

"Someone will still notice," Rick argued. Alex sighed.

"We can't go through it, and we can't go around it, which means we can't go anywhere," Alex muttered. He continued with sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Yeah, this is going to be an _awesome _quest." Rick clenched his hands, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, his phone rang, which made the three of them jump in surprise.

"You have a cell phone?" asked Rick, his eyes still narrowed.

"Your point?" Alex asked as he took it out of his pocket. _I forgot I even had it, _he thought. _It must not have been able to work at the camp. _As Alex looked at the seventy missed calls, he guessed he was right.

"Don't answer it!" Rick suddenly yelled as Alex was about to push the button. The fourteen year old assassin glared at him. "Cell phones send a signal to monsters telling them where we are! If you answer it, we'll be in definate danger!"

"I've used cell phones before, Rick, and I've lived to tell the tale," Alex muttered before pushing the button and holding the phone to his ear. He noticed Rick tense and look around, and ignored it.

"Alex, you better have a darn good reason for being this late on an assignment," came Ed's voice. Alex flinched slightly at the voice as he turned his back to Rick and Aleah.

"It's not one that'll keep me out of trouble, if that's what you mean," Alex murmured. "Mr. Quinn won't be incredibly happy when I return." Ed sighed.

"Are you at least on your way?" he asked.

"Unfortunately. . .no," Alex told him honestly. "It's hard to explain right now, but it will be a few days at least."

"Alex, you idiot!" Ed yelled. "Mr. Quinn isn't going to take this lightly. What did you do, get yourself captured?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes," Alex replied.

"Figures," Ed muttered. "The smartest assassin we have gets himself captured on an a_bduction _assignment. Do you realize how many police are after you with that stunt you pulled?" Alex narrowed his eyes.

"Ethan screwed it up!" Alex hissed. "If he hadn't barged in half way through I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"

"Try telling that to Mr. Quinn," Ed told him. "He's already told the entire rank of assassins to find you if you are not back by sunset tonight." Alex's eyes grew wide.

"But there's no way -" Alex began.

"If that is so impossible, then where have you been the last three days?" Ed asked. Alex paused and clenched his hands. "No valid argument? That's what I thought. Look, I didn't want to sound angry, but Alex, this is the most trouble I think you have ever gotten into, and if you don't fix it soon, you could lose your rank as well as your freedom." Alex was holding his breath, trying to suppress the urge to yell.

"I know," he said quietly. "How serious is Mr. Quinn in terms of finding me?" Ed was quiet for a few moments.

"You're strong, and unpredictable," Ed explained. "They've been asked to do anything they can to get you back to the company, and that includes harming you." Alex was quiet. "You must understand Mr. Quinn's point of view, Alex. You are the best and most trained assassin within the company, and if you ran away -" Alex's eyes flashed.

"I'd never run away!" Alex defended himself. "It's my home!"

"And while that may be true, what's there to prove it?" Ed asked. "You have every reason to run away, and if you did, you'd have enough power to bring the government down upon us as well as the assassins that are only loyal to you. It would be disasterous for Mr. Quinn, which is why he finds it so important to find you." Alex paused once more.

"Well, I'll get back as fast as I can," Alex told his superior. "Is my phone being tracked?"

"And why would you need to know that?" Ed asked. Alex hesitated.

"I can't be found, not right now," Alex answered. "I've got to evade the police as well." Ed sighed.

"Your phone is indeed being tracked," Ed told him. "Be careful." Alex hung up the phone after that, sighing with annoyance as he turned to face Rick and Aleah again.

"Who's trying to find you?" asked Aleah, her head tilted to the side.

"The police and the orphanage," Alex muttered, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Have either of you devised a plan yet? I'm kind of on a tight schedule now." Rick and Aleah glanced to each other.

"The only thing we can think of is to go around," Rick answered. "It will take longer, but there's no other way to do it without being scented out by monsters." Alex nodded.

"Well let's hurry then," he murmured. And so the three of them casually strode on the sidewalk, talking quietly. Rick still seemed to be anxious about the monsters, but Aleah was quite content to be away from the airport. Alex, after quickly sending a text - or message, as he wished to call it - to a friend whom he hoped was not too far away, was still in distant thought.

_If Mr. Quinn is this paranoid of me, then I'll have more punishment than I originally thought, _Alex told himself. _If I don't return by this week, I'm pretty sure I'll no longer be the leader. That's not the hard part, though. The punishment. . . _Alex shuddered and frowned. _It will be the most unpleasant thing I've ever experienced._

They walked for about a half an hour, and they were almost turning the corner when Alex saw movement near one of the buildings. It wasn't a normal figure, and something about it seemed wrong. He stopped and looked for it, but the thing had disappeared.

"Is something wrong?" asked Aleah. Alex continued gazing toward where he saw the movement.

"I think someone is following us," Alex murmured. Rick and Aleah looked in the direction he was, and they waited. A teenage girl suddenly walked out of the shadows, and she tilted her head to the side.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked, her eyes a very deep color.

"Yes," Rick answered.

"But you can't," the teenager said, acting as though it were obvious. "This is our territory. You are on it. You are our prey. You are our meal." Alex saw them: two other teenage girls who looked almost exactly like her. They walked toward Rick and Aleah slowly, as if stalking their prey.

Alex unsheathed his right dagger and blocked the first girl's arm and held her there with his strength. The two stared at each other, and immediately the fourteen year old assassin looked for other weapons of the teenage girl. His eyes glanced over her other arm and saw a little further to the left four snakes tied around her waist. _  
_

One of the snakes struck at his stomach, but the fourteen year old assassin had jumped back, releasing the tension he and the teenage girl had put onto each other. Alex managed to sneak a look at the others and found that Aleah was fighting the blond with her strange talking power, and Rick was trying to switch to the offensive with the brunette with his sword.

Alex dashed to the left as the black haired girl sprinted toward him. He ran past her and into the shadow provided by the overhang of the building. Thankfully, there were no windows, and so no one could see him fighting the teenage girl.

Alex watched as the girl ran forward, and hoped that she had bad eye-sight so he couldn't be seen. To his surprise, the black haired monster paused and began shifting her gaze in search of her prey.

"You are different then the normal half-blood, then?" the teenage girl decided. "You smell better. You fight better. You will taste better too, hmm?" She lunged in the direction he was after a few moments of searching, but the fourteen year old assassin managed to bring his left knife in front of him before she got to him.

A scream distracted Alex. He glanced over only for a few moments, remembering soon after that he was fighting fourteen year old assassin immediately tried to step backwards, but she managed to plunge two claws an inch into his ribs before he got out of the way.

But he'd gotten the information he needed to. Aleah was hurt, and Rick was keeping her from death. That was good enough for Alex, so the fourteen year old assassin continued fighting the monster who he just figured out had blood dripping from her eyes.

_Think, _Alex ordered himself. _These people running this high and powerful show know their mythology, and they would have made sure this was an actual historical creature. __A monster with snakes on her waist and blood dripping from her eyes. Who is that? _

"Don't let the snakes bite you!" Rick called over to him. "The venom must be painful!" Alex blocked another arm of the monster and moved to the right so that she didn't get him with her snakes or her other handful of claws.

The black haired monster lunged forward as soon as he did so, and the fourteen year old assassin lost his footing. His head made contact with the ground with a loud _bang _before the monster was over him with her hand raised. Alex raised his knife and blocked the attack before he unsheathed his left knife and stabbed near her shoulder. _  
_

She screeched, and Alex kicked her stomach before rolling out of the way. The fourteen year old assassin stood before he noticed that she neither dissolved or sprouted red blood. It wasn't even green like most monsters in fictional stories. It was gold. The blood of the gods.

As the monster recovered, Alex turned and sprinted toward Rick, who was having quite the bit of trouble with both godesses.

"They aren't monsters!" Alex yelled. "They're goddesses - Erinyes!" Rick's eyes widened right away, but he kept focused on his battle. Alex noticed that the blonde Erinya locked her gaze upon him, and soon after he decided to run out of range.

As soon Alex made it to Aleah, he scooped her up in his arms and thanked whatever god there was that she was a lot smaller than normal fourteen year old girls. The fourteen year old assassin continued running in the direction of the freeway, hoping that Rick got the hint that they were running.

"Come back, you cowardsss!" hissed one of the Erinyes. Alex took no time to look back, for he knew that Rick was following him now.

The road was about 150 feet away, and Alex hoped that he and Rick had enough of an adrenaline rush to make it that far. The Erinyes were fast, but they seemed to be going at their same rate because the monsters weren't making any progress by chasing them.

"Take her," Alex ordered Rick as he passed Aleah into his arms. "I'll get help." Rick's eyes widened.

"We can't -" Rick began, but Alex had already flipped open his cell phone and was dialing the correct number. He put it to his ear and waited only a few seconds.

"Alex, you know I can't -" a man on the other line began.

"I know!" Alex yelled. "But I'm kind of in a bit trouble. Are you almost here?" There was a sigh.

"I'm not aloud to take you anywhere but back to the company," the man reminded him. "If they find out -"

"I'll take the blame when I get back," Alex hissed impatiently. "Tell them I forced you to. Something. But are you almost here?"

"You're in enough trouble as it is!" the man pointed out. "You've broken over twenty rules - admitting you forced me to drive you into an unauthorized area -"

"Yes, I understand," Alex snapped. "But would you rather want me dead?" There was a pause.

"The south road?" the man asked. Alex could have sighed with relief if he wasn't running from three very dangerous teenage girls with snakes as friends and blood for tears.

"Yes," the fourteen year old answered. The man hung up, and after that, Alex put phone away and continued sprinting forward with Rick. The goddesses were pretty fast for teenage girls, and they were catching up to them now.

"Just keep running," Alex told Rick, noticing that the boy was getting slower with the added weight of Aleah. "Someone's going to pick us up in just a few minutes." Rick nodded, but didn't say anything.

Before long, the road was completely visible, and this seemed to give Rick the boost he needed to. Alex, having no desire to break even more rules, allowed the Poseidon boy to take the front. The fourteen year old assassin glanced behind himself every few moments to make sure they were okay.

Soon, a taxicab pulled up along the sidewalk in an area that was probably off-limits to vehicles. Either way, Alex was given another jolt of energy so that he could yell to Rick, "Get in the taxicab!" Rick nodded, and he ran even faster. Alex kept up, staying behind as the Erinyes continued to get faster.

Rick got to the taxicab first, and after carefully opening the door, he carefully set Aleah in and scooted in himself. Alex flung himself in and shut the door as fast as he could. The car screeched forward just as the Erinyes caught up, and as they drove away, they seemed to be fuming with the disappointment that their prey had escaped.

"Aleah. . .eat this," Rick said breathlessly, bringing Alex back to the injured girl. She was shaking as she held the snake bite on her arm. It must have been painful for her, for she seemed to be biting her tongue hard. _Please let her be okay, _Alex thought. _If she dies, it'll be my fault, and I'll be in more trouble, which will get me into more trouble with the company, which means - _

But after eating something that Rick gave her, Aleah gave a long sigh of relief before closing her eyes. "I hate snakes," she muttered. And almost instantly afterward, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

"Ambrosia. . ." Rick explained after also sighing with relief. He was breathing hard, but he was calmer than before. "It does. . .wonders. . ." Alex didn't comment.

"Your friend there alright?" asked the man. Alex nodded.

"Yes, Fred," Alex answered. "Just sleeping, now, I think." The man, Fred, nodded.

"Well, ya got your way here, what ya gonna do now?" Fred asked. Alex gave a long sigh, trying to force his body to listen and calm down before he answered.

"Atkinson city, Nebraska," Alex answered. "I've got an assignment there."

"Alright, then, Atkinson City it is!" Fred exclaimed as they got onto the freeway. He wore a smile, but he kept glancing back to Alex with uncertain eyes. "Think ya can finish this here assignment by sunset?" Alex shook his head

"Probably not," he muttered. Fred didn't say anything more. He just kept driving, and now that they were at a smooth pace, Alex found himself calm once more. He took out his string as he thought, twirling it and twisting it to make sure his heart stayed at an easy pace.

_The sprinting workouts finally came into handy, _Alex thought to himself. _Rick must have done something similar, because no average person could have run that fast for that amount of time with someone in their hands. _He frowned as he thought of the battle.

_I should've won easily, or at least injured her more without getting injured myself. Either they're trying to challenge me with stronger people, or. . .I'm getting weaker. I mean, I got distracted. How could I let myself do that? Sure, I wanted to make sure Aleah didn't get hurt, but I should have noticed my mistake. _Alex sighed.

_This all better be worth it._

* * *

**A/n: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

_Haha. I don't need reviwers telling me to update - I've got my annoying little sister instead! XD Anyway, I'm not happy with the beginning of this chapter, though the conversation between him and Ed is exactly how I wanted it to turn out. _

_-+- The Endless Hourglass, may time be with you._


End file.
